Minnesota Timberwolves: 15 greatest moments of Kevin Garnett’s career
By Ben Beecken
11. Beating up on the Kings
The Timberwolves had dispatched of the Sacramento Kings less than eight months prior in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, and Garnett wanted to once again prove his dominance over Chris Webber and the rest of Sactown.
Sure, this was only a regular season game in December, but it was also the Kings; if you haven’t sensed a bit of a theme already, you will. Sacramento finds itself on this countdown a lot.
In this Dec. 10, 2004 matchup, the Wolves and Kings entered with identical 12-6 records. Head coach Rick Adelman’s Kings were no doubt looking for revenge following their playoff ouster at the hands of Minnesota, and the Wolves wanted to solidify their spot as a top challenger in the West, if not the favorite.
The Wolves entered the fourth quarter trailing by six points, but Garnett had 11 points in the final frame including knocking down all five of his free throw attempts.
For the game, Garnett shot 11-of-22 from the field and missed his only 3-point attempt but was a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
On the other side of the court, it took Chris Webber 27 shots to get to 25 points and the Kings’ All-Star big man committed four turnovers. Garnett had the best of him once again, and it was a big win for the Wolves at the time.
Of course, this was the 2004-05 season that saw Flip Saunders get fired and the Wolves start their streak of playoff-less seasons, but this particular performance by Garnett and subsequent victory by the Timberwolves was memorable nonetheless.