Kings ‘have to figure something out’ after loss to Timberwolves squad with superior length

The Minnesota Timberwolves in some ways offered the Kings a preview of what a playoff game could look like Monday when they gummed up the Sacramento’ league-leading offense at Golden 1 Center.

“The more games like this we experience before the playoffs, the better,” Kings center Domantas Sabonis said after Sacramento fell 119-115, spoiling a night Kings fans hoped would mark the end of a 16-year playoff drought.

The Kings had to wait at least one more night to clinch their first postseason berth since 2006 because the Timberwolves forced Sacramento off the 3-point line and prevented the NBA’s highest-scoring offense from getting out in transition. In turn, the Kings made a season-low five 3-pointers on a season-worst 18.5% shooting clip.

“If we face them again, we’re going to have to try to figure something out,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “It’s going to have to be more of a defensive-oriented game, because at the end of the day they’re just going to push out on our guys (at the 3-point line). When you got a three-time defensive player of the year sitting in the paint impacting you at the rim, they’re going to give up those (two-point shots).”

That three-time defensive player of the year is 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert, whose length allows Minnesota’s wing defenders to press up on outside shooters and force them to drive to the lane. Pair Gobert with the likes of 6-9 wing Jaden McDaniels and life can be tough on offenses that prioritize driving and kicking out to shooters like the Kings have all season.

It marked the second time Minnesota came to Sacramento and beat Kings on their home floor since March 4. Monday’s result gave the Timberwolves the edge in the season series, 3-1, in a possible first-round playoff matchup. The Kings (45-30) remain in the third seed, 2 ½ games behind No. 2 seed Memphis and five games ahead of fourth-place Phoenix.

Minnesota with the win hopped past the Golden State Warriors, whom they beat on Sunday, for the No. 6 seed. The Wolves have the NBA’s 11th-ranked defense, allowing 113.2 points per 100 possessions.

“The last two times we played them, we felt like we played their game,” guard Kevin Huerter said. “Just the pace of the game, the shots we were taking. They’re really good defensively, they’re tough inside. McDaniels is great at the point of (attack), and other guys that are smart. They really took away the 3 ball tonight, and similarly to last game, it just felt like our offensive rhythm isn’t what it usually is.”

The Kings for the season came in averaging 13.8 made 3s per game, good for fifth in the NBA. Their 37.4% rate is eighth. But the balanced scoring they’ve enjoyed throughout the season wasn’t there on Monday. De’Aaron Fox (29 points), Sabonis (24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists) and Harrison Barnes (19 points) were Sacramento’s only players in double figures until the fourth quarter, when Malik Monk scored eight of his 12 points and Huerter scored eight of his 13.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, had six players in double figures through three quarters, and outscored the Kings’ bench 35-27 on the night led by Naz Reid’s 18 and Jaylen Nowell’s 14.

McDaniels got going early, scoring 13 points in the first quarter while making all six of his shot attempts, setting an ominous tone for a charged-up crowd. He finished with a team-high 20.

“When you get those types of contributions from your quote-unquote role players ... it makes it tough,” Brown said. “But I give them a lot of credit for the way they came out and aggressively took it to us on the offensive end of the floor by scoring. And then defensively, I thought they were really good too. ... Their length is really good. They made us rush quite a few 3s.”

Keegan Murray came into the game needing three 3-pointers to tie Donovan Mitchell for the single-season rookie record (187), but he made just 1 of 6 on Monday. Huerter was the only Kings player to make multiple 3s, hitting 3 of 5, while the rest of the team went a combined 2 of 22.

The Timberwolves also turned the ball over just six times, preventing the Kings from running out in transition. It was tied for the second-fewest turnovers the Kings have forced all season, and the second fewest Minnesota had given away all year. Not getting turnovers, while the Timberwolves shot 51.2% from the floor, made things tough on the Kings’ ability to speed the game up and get more open shots.

“Just getting stops,” Fox said when asked about what needed to happen for Sacramento to be able to play faster. “Obviously, we try to run after makes, but it’s much easier to run after getting a stop. It’s not always about making them turn the ball over, but we have to just find a way to come up with stops and get a defensive rebound, and it’ll be much easier to run.”

Next up for the Kings is a trip to Portland for two games Wednesday and Friday against the Blazers, who have fallen out of the playoff mix and have lost nine of their last 10 games.