Usually, playing on your home court is beneficial to a team. It’s why teams fight for playoff seeding, so they can have homecourt advantage in the postseason for as long as possible.
When it comes to the Timberwolves and Kings, that hasn’t been the case. That’s until Friday, when Minnesota defeated Sacramento on their home court on Friday, the first time in their last 12 meetings against each other that the home team came out on top.
First time the home team won in nearly three years
On Friday night, the Timberwolves secured their fourth consecutive victory to improve their record to 8-4 on the season. In a close game throughout, Minnesota outscored the Kings 32-19 in the final stanza and won 124-110. Anthony Edwards led the way with 30 points while Julius Randle ended the night with a double-double (26 points, 11 rebounds). The loss dropped the Kings to a miserable 3-10.
In the previous three seasons, the Timberwolves and Kings met up a total of 11 times in the regular season. Friday was the second time this season that they played each other. The first was a blowout victory by Minnesota on the road, 144-117. Remarkably, Friday’s game marked the first time since their first matchup in the 2022-23 season (January 28, 2023) that the home team won.
If that sounds like something that should rarely happen, you would be correct. Timberwolves broadcaster Alan Horton tweeted out that it is the longest streak in NBA history of a road team winning a team vs. team matchup.
The streak is over.
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) November 15, 2025
The road team had won the last 11 meetings between MIN & SAC until tonight.
It was the longest streak of its kind in NBA history.
The two teams square up just one more time this season on November 24 in Sacramento.
Many new faces on both teams since that game
On that January 28, 2023 contest, the Timberwolves beat the Kings at the Target Center by the score of 117-110. You can tell a lot has happened since that game, as the rosters have been heavily changed since that date.
Four players who were on Minnesota’s roster that game remain on the team. They are Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Only Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and Keegan Murray (currently injured) were with Sacramento at that time and are still currently rostered by them.
Along with Edwards, McDaniels, and Gobert in the starting lineup that evening for Minnesota were D'Angelo Russell and Kyle Anderson. Reid saw playing time off the bench as did Jaylen Nowell, Austin Rivers, Nathan Knight, Luka Garza, and Wendell Moore Jr.,