Sacramento Kings fall to Timberwolves, playoff hopes hanging

The Minnesota Timberwolves stymied the Sacramento Kings Monday night, halting the team’s hopes of a playoff berth for the first time since the 2005-2006 season. The match ended 119-115. The Kings have experienced the longest drought of any team in major professional sports in the United States, and the team had three ways to clinch their spot on Monday. It included a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Gold 1, or a loss from the Phoenix Suns or the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns won their game against the Utah Jazz, and the Clippers also beat the Bulls. The Kings, 45-29 and third-ranked in the Western Conference, were fans sharing pre-game excitement set for their next game against the Portland Trail Blazers. | more | All was different the last time the Kings made the playoffs, the Timberwolves won their fourth in a row and completed a straight set streak at Golden State and Sacramento to tie the Warriors for sixth place in the Western Conference playoff race. He was upset by the rabid, frenzied crowd and pulled away in the fourth quarter for the win. Nas Reed scored a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter, while McDaniels cruised to victory 114-104. With about four minutes remaining, the Kings had a chance to close it out late, but Keegan Murray missed a 3-pointer from the corner that could have cut the lead to three points with 42 seconds left, Reed added 18, Anthony Edwards had Rudy score Joubert had 17 points and 16 rebounds, Diaron Fox scored 29 and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento. The Kings struggled on the outside, making just 5 of 26 three-pointers, and Sacramento will now be looking for its first berth since 2006 later this week, when the Kings travel to Portland for two games. The Associated Press contributed to this report.