<font color="DarkOliveGreen">Minnesota Timberwolves</font> @ <font color="Purple">Sacramento Kings</font> Arco Arena Thursday, April 8, 10:00pm ET Nat TV: TNT <u>Records</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">MINNESOTA:</font> 54W-24L 69.2% 30-10 Home 24-14 Away 24-6 East 30-18 West Streak: Won 5 (Last 10 games 8-2) <font color="Purple">SACRAMENTO:</font> 53W-23L 69.7% 32-6 Home 21-17 Away 23-6 East 30-17 West Streak: Won 1 (Last 10 games 5-5) <u>Last game</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Minnesota:</font> W 90-82 Grizzlies <font color="Purple">Sacramento: </font> W 105-91 Hornets <div align="center">Coaches <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Flip Saunders</font>/<font color="Purple">Rick Adelman</font> Probable Starters <u>Backcourt</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Sam Cassell</font>/<font color="Purple">Mike Bibby</font> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Latrell Sprewell</font>/<font color="Purple">Doug Christie</font> <u>Frontcourt</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Trenton Hassell</font>/<font color="Purple">Predrag Stojakovic</font> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Kevin Garnett</font>/<font color="Purple">Chris Webber</font> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Ervin Johnson</font>/<font color="Purple">Vlade Divac</font> <u>6th Men</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Wally Szczerbiak</font>/<font color="Purple">Brad Miller</font></div> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Timberwolves Statistical Leaders</font> Points K. Garnett 24.3 Rebounds K. Garnett 13.8 Assists S. Cassell 7.4 <font color="Purple">Kings Statistical Leaders</font> Points P. Stojakovic 24.6 Rebounds B. Miller 10.4 Assists V. Divac 5.6 Injuries <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Timberwolves</font> Ndudi Ebi F Knee (OUT) Troy Hudson G Ankle (OUT) <font color="Purple">Kings</font> Bobby Jackson G Abdominal might play tonight <font face="Lucida Sans Unicode">Players to watch</font> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Kevin Garnett: 24.3ppg 10.4rpg 6apg 2.13bpg 1.44spg</font> <font color="Purple">Chris Webber: 18.4ppg 9rpg 4.9apg .88bpg 1.38spg</font> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Timberwolves' players</font> Ervin Johnson: Started last 9 games; Wolves are 33-10 in his starts Kevin Garnett: Made 50 of last 54 FTs; led ast in 12 of last 23 games <u>Season Series</u> Minnesota leads 2-1 <font color="Purple">Wednesday, Nov. 5 at Minnesota 121-125 (OT) </font> Garnett 28 Stojakovic 34 <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Friday, Dec. 5 at Sacramento 112-109 (OT)</font> Sprewell 37 Miller 35 <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Thursday, Feb. 19 at Minnesota 92-75 </font> Garnett 22 Stojakovic 15 Thursday, Apr. 8 at Sacramento <u>First Meeting:</u> Peja Stojakovic scored 26 of his 34 points after halftime -- sinking five of six 3-point attempts -- in Sacramento's 125-121 OT victory on Nov. 5 at Target Center. Mike Bibby added 22 points for the Kings, while Vlade Divac had 19 points and 10 assists. Kevin Garnett's 28 points led Minnesota, with Sam Cassell tallying 26 points and 14 assists, and Latrell Sprewell chipping in 23 points. <u>Second Meeting:</u> Latrell Sprewell poured in 37 points and Kevin Garnett sank two 3-pointers in the closing seconds of regulation as the Wolves rallied for a 112-109 OT win over Sacramento on Dec. 5 at ARCO Arena. Garnett finished with 33 points and a franchise-record 25 rebounds, while Sam Cassell scored 26 points. Brad Miller's career-high 35 points led the Kings, with Peja Stojakovic adding 18. Third Meeting: Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and pulled down 24 rebounds, sparking the Wolves to a 92-75 victory over Sacramento on Feb. 19 at Target Center. Sam Cassell tallied 18 points for Minnesota, while Latrell Sprewell chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 15 points, Darius Songaila scored 12 and Mike Bibby added 11. <u>Third Meeting:</u> Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and pulled down 24 rebounds, sparking the Wolves to a 92-75 victory over Sacramento on Feb. 19 at Target Center. Sam Cassell tallied 18 points for Minnesota, while Latrell Sprewell chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 15 points, Darius Songaila scored 12 and Mike Bibby added 11. <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Minnesota Game Notes:</font> The Dec. 5 win ended Minnesota's six-game slide at ARCO Arena (dating to Apr. 7, 2000) and was also the fourth straight overtime game involving the Wolves and Kings -- the first time that's happened in NBA history.Sacramento leads the overall series by a narrow 30-29 margin; Minnesota is 9-19 all-time at ARCO. ROAD-COURT ADVANTAGE?: The Mar. 29 win at Houston was the Wolves' 24th road victory of the year,tying the franchise single-season record (24-17 in 1999-2000) with three games to play It's the third time Minnesota has won 20+ road games, having put together a 21-20 mark in 2001-02 Despite dropping five of their last nine away from Target Center, the Wolves own the NBA's 2nd-best road record at 24-14 (Indiana 25-13) Four of Minnesota's last seven road losses have been to sub-.500 teams (Jan. 28 at Golden State, Feb. 4 at Atlanta, Mar. 10 at Portland); the Mar. 18 loss at San Antonio snapped the Wolves' six-game road winning streak vs. .500+ clubs The Feb. 29 loss at Philly ended Minnesota's three-game road winning streak; they finished 11-4 on the road vs. Eastern Conference teams this year Portland ended Minnesota's club-record-tying six-game road winning streak on Dec. 26 Minnesota is one of five Western teams with winning marks on the road (San Antonio 22-17, Sacramento 20-17, L.A. Lakers 21-18, Memphis 19-18) <font color="Purple">Sacramento Game Notes:</font> MISSING #24: The Kings sparkplug off the bench, guard Bobby Jackson, has been sidelined on the injured list for the last 23 games. In that 23- game span, the Kings bench has been outscored in 17 of those contests by the opponents bench. The Kings bench has been outscored, 428- 592 (or 19.5 ppg to 26.9 ppg), by the opponents bench in the last 23 games. Jackson, last seasons NBA Sixth Man of the Year, was averaging 13.9 ppg (4th on the team), 3.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 spg, and 23.9 mpg in 49 games off the bench. With the return of All-Star forward Chris Webber, Brad Miller has given the bench a boost with 12.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg, and 31.0 mpg in 13 games off the bench. <font size="1">NBA.com</font> <u>Key Factors</u> <font color="DarkOliveGreen">Minnesota</font> * Trenton Hassell will need to contain Peja Stojakovic. He did a good job last time. *Sprewell needs to take smart shots ( If he doesn't, he will hurt the team chances of winning) *Play great defense. Defend the perimeter and don't let the players have any open shots. *Defend against Webber. <font color="Purple">Sacramento</font> *Contain the Big 3. *Defend the perimeter. The wolves have great perimeter shooters. *Get Peja hot from the outside.He will need to play great in this game. *Contain Kevin Garnett. The Kings won't be able to stop him but they will need to slow him down. Limit his touches. <font color="Blue">My Prediction</font> The Wolves will need to win this game. The Kings have been on slump lately but the win against the Rockets and another win against the hornets will be a great confidence boost.The Wolves haven't been great at the Arco arena and this is the first time they will play against the Kings with Webber in the lineup.So those things will be factors in this game. Both teams are missing their 6th men.So their benches will be missing some energy given by Bobby and Troy.Also the Wolves are a great road team and the Kings are a great team at home.This game should be a close one and will maybe go to overtime. They already have 2 OT games with each other. I predict the Wolves win by 6.
This is going to be a huge game. If we win this game, we will be 1/2 game ahead in the Western Conference standings, and we are hot right now, so this should be a very tight one to the finish. But I'm going with the Wolves with this one. Wolves by 3.
Yes the 1st game of what will be an extremely difficult back to back. But I think a guy like Wally will be really big in this game for the t-wolves. The Kings are going to focus alot on the Big 3 because of the #'s they have put up against the Kings this season. That is going to give alot of free opportunities to a guy like Wally on the wing for open jumpers. Spree seeems to really show up against the kings this year so that trend should continue. The Kings frontline is kind of suspect right now with Brad Miller banged up. CWebb not 100%. A guy like Kandiman can get alot done against that frontline right now. I know KG will get his regardless down low. But Kandiman can take advantage of them being not 100%.
Can you say #1 in the west? A win tonight puts the T-Wolves a 1/2 game ahead of the Kings. This was one of the best wins for the T-Wolves. They beat the former top team, they got the W, and all of the players contributed. Sam had 20+ with i think 6 assists, KG got yet ANOTHER double double, and Spree, Kandi, and Walyl all had 10+ i think. Nice job T-Wolves!
This game was far from pretty.This was the love him or hate him night for Sam. He tried to win the game by himself during certain parts of the game especially in the 2 quarter. I think KG did a good job letting him no to keep playing a team game. I think KG showed his leadship tonight. I seen him barking orders to Sam & Wally at different times during the game. And I think KG is the only person Sam would listen to on the court because of the respect Sam has gained for him this year. I just hope they didnt use all their injury for the G-state game. Spree might have to be the one to carry the offensive load against the Warriors.
Did you see that intense look KG had when he was talking to Sam? That was classic. Game versus the Kings was a splash of cold water in the face for me. I most surely thought that the Kings would take this one. Not like the Wolves couldn't, but because the Kings had so much riding on it. To lose the gie-break to a team so close is crucial. If you can remember when Webber hit that reverse dunk, I thought the game would be a loss by 5. When they started hitting shots and rebounding, I started to have a glimmer of hope. But when the Kings started intentional fouling, I just clapped and was like "You guys showed me alot today. You made a true believer out of me". Aren't we 1 1/2 games ahead of them since we have the tie-breaker? Like the announcers said, that was playoff basketball, now we have to feel confident and take care of business.
