Malik Monk scores 39 to lead Kings past Timberwolves in overtime
Malik Monk scored 35 of his 39 points after halftime and the Sacramento Kings defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-120 in overtime on Friday night.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota's leading scorer, had 11 points in the first half but did not play after halftime due to personal reasons, according to team officials.
Minnesota led 120-117 midway through the overtime period before Monk hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Wolves had a chance to tie it with 17.5 seconds to play, but Naz Reid missed a corner 3 and Trey Lyles hit a free throw to clinch the victory.
Sacramento's Damontas Sabonis had 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists before fouling out in overtime.
Keegan Murray scored 17 points, Davion Mitchell had 16 and Harrison Barnes had 14 for the Kings, who were missing leading scorer De'Aaron Fox, who missed his second straight game with a left knee contusion.
Jaden McDaniels led the Timberwolves with 26 points. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 19 points, Reid had 18 points and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Monk scored 11 of Sacramento's last 13 points of the third quarter, to stretch a one-point lead into a 91–82 advantage.
The Wolves opened the fourth on a 14-4 run for a 96-95 lead on McDaniels' 3-pointer. But Monk responded with a driving layup and a breakaway dunk to put the Kings back on top.
Gobert hit one of two free throws with 40.1 seconds to play to tie the score at 115-115 and send it into overtime.
For the second straight game, the Wolves dug themselves a hole early. Two nights after falling behind Memphis 14-0, Minnesota started 1 for 4 with three turnovers on its first seven possessions. Meanwhile, the Kings hit four of their first six 3-point attempts and raced to an 18-4 lead.
Sabonis scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first quarter as the Kings led by as many as 14. But Monte Morris and Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit consecutive threes in the last minute to cut the Kings' lead to 30-22 at the end of the quarter.
Edwards shot 2 for 11 in the first half, but he went 6 for 6 from the line as the Wolves clawed back. Barnes hit a 3 at the buzzer to send the Kings into halftime with a 60-59 lead.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host Bulls on Monday night.
Timberwolves: Host Clippers on Sunday.
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