The Minnesota Timberwolves put together a well-rounded blowout of the Sacramento Kings on Monday night at Target Center. Let’s talk about three key takeaways from the 132-105 victory.
In case fans weren’t sure, the Minnesota Timberwolves are indeed a completely different team at Target Center than they are on the road.
Fresh off another win-less road trip, the Wolves returned to their home floor for a blowout win over the Kings, whom they were blown out by just last week in Sactown.
On this night, however, Minnesota led by as many as 36 points in the first half and ultimately won by a 132-105 margin.
The Wolves and Kings traded blows early in the first quarter and it sure seemed like it was going to be another no-defense affair. But then the home team cracked down just a bit and began to build a double-digit lead that they wouldn’t relinquish the entire night.
In a strange twist, Karl-Anthony Towns was the first starter to sit for the Wolves as he headed to the bench midway through the opening frame. As the bench unit slowly entered the game, the lead continued to grow.
On a night that saw Jeff Teague sit out due to inflammation in his ankle, Derrick Rose started and Josh Okogie played the backup wing minutes. The first stint of the game for Okogie was electric, to say the least.
Josh Okogie in the 2nd quarter. Dear sweet mother of Zeus pic.twitter.com/xO9VoChKDG
— Kyle Ratke (@Kyle_Ratke) December 18, 2018
Oh, and that fastbreak dunk, left-handed block, and awesome assist were one after another, too. It was an energetic and roof-raising performance in a span of less than a minute.
At that point, the game was virtually over. Okogie was amazing and the rest of the second unit was good, too, with Dario Saric and Gorgui Dieng shining in extended playing time while Tyus Jones dished out a series of dazzling assists.
The Wolves led by 30 at halftime and while the Kings went on a quick run to get within 13 points midway through the third quarter, the Wolves went on another run to end the third quarter and pull back in front by 26 heading to the fourth.
The final quarter was entirely garbage time. Mercifully, Towns only had to play 21 minutes while Rose was on the court for 24 minutes and Wiggins for 27. Unfortunately, a banged-up Robert Covington still saw the court for 36 minutes.
Let’s take a look at three key takeaways from the Wolves win over the Kings.