After poor performances in road losses to the Nets and Celtics, the Kings demonstrated resiliency, defeating the Timberwolves 110-107 at the Target Center.
"It was tremendous,” Kings coach Tyrone Corbin told reporters. “Just to get a win under our belts after the last couple, especially the game yesterday.”
Getting the road win without key players at crunch time was especially significant for Sacramento.
Rudy Gay fouled out with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter with Sacramento leading 99-98. Then DeMarcus Cousins picked up his sixth foul with 2:46 to go in the game, with the Kings leading 104-101.
“To finish the game without DeMarcus and Rudy on the floor, the guys showed a lot of resolve and really fought to win this game,” Corbin added. “It was good to see."
[HERENDA: Instant Replay: Kings outlast Wolves, snap two-game skid]
Without Gay, who scored 21 points, and Cousins, who added 19 points, Sacramento received contributions from all over the roster.
With the score tied at 99 with 3:42 to go, Derrick Williams -- a surprise starter -- hit a 3-pointer propelling Sacramento to a lead it never relinquished.
Jason Thompson, who was replaced in the starting lineup the last two games, hit a clutch jump shot at the 1:47 mark of the fourth quarter to extend Sacramento’s lead to 106-102.
On Sacramento’s next possession, Carl Landry made two free throws to make it 108-102 with 1:11 to go.
However, Minnesota, which hung around all night, closed the gap on a Mo Williams jumper. A Shabazz Muhammad 3-pointer to cut the Kings' lead to 108-107 with three seconds remaining.
Darren Collison was then fouled and made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left. A Troy Daniels 3-pointer at the buzzer was no good and Sacramento held on to win 110-107.
"We just picked up our intensity a little bit,” said Collison. “We've been talking about our urgency the last few games and how it hasn't been there for awhile.”
In addition to the late free throws, Collison was clutch scoring eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, as the lone member of the Kings big three on the floor.
“I thought tonight we were a little better than most nights in the past and it was good to get a win and get that feeling back," said Collison.
It was Ryan Hollins who started for Thompson in Boston on Wednesday -- and in Minnesota, Williams got the call against his former team.
"It made more sense for us,” Corbin told the media in Minnesota on starting Williams. “There may be some more tweaks for us as we go down the road.
“As I told the guys, we've got to have everybody ready to play. We need everybody on this team to be ready. Nothing personal against anybody. We're just trying to be as good as we can be."
"It was big,” said Williams, who scored 17 points. “Especially since it was my first start of the season.
“Coach is trying to find what lineups work, different strategies. Tonight, I thought we played pretty well.”
THE GOOD: The Kings held Andrew Wiggins to just six points in the second half after the rookie scored 21 points in the first half. If Wiggins had totally gone off, it may have been another road loss for the Kings.
THE BAD: Sacramento’s inability to finish off a 5-win team, especially allowing 107 points, which is eight points above the Timberwolves' average.
“We had a lot of spurts where we played good defense, but then we had a lot of spurts where we let them back into the game,” said Williams. “We had a chance to step on their neck and we let them get back in the game.”
THE TAKE: The Kings demonstrated mental toughness finishing without Gay and Cousins and receiving key contributions from Williams, Landry and Thompson.
Perhaps Sacramento’s New Year’s Day performance is a sign that the squad is ready to turn the page on a disappointing 4-11 record in the month of December, which was laden with home games.
