Fox, Lyles help Kings outlast Timberwolves 118-111 in OT

MINNEAPOLIS(AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight ofhis 11 points in overtime for the Sacramento Kings, who outlastedthe Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 on Monday night.

Malik Monkscored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 reboundsbefore fouling out and Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13rebounds for the upstart Kings, who produced another signature winin their promising quest to end an NBA-record 16-year absence fromthe playoffs.

The Kings hada season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolvesinto 21 points.

“It’s justtrying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into asteal, great,” Fox said.

Lyles tookover for Sabonis at center and started overtime with a 3-pointer.Hedunked on RudyGobertfor a three-point play and got wide open for a slamwith 37.8 seconds left for a five-point lead that put the game awayand gave the Kings a two-game split after a117-110losson Saturday.

“Both thosegames were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did agood job maintaining our composure down the stretch,” Murraysaid.

AnthonyEdwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves,hitting the 30-point mark for the fifth time in the last six games,but he had six turnovers amid heavy double-teams down thestretch.

“He’s drawinga big crowd,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “For the most part,he’s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it alittle earlier.”

Gobert added19 points and 14 rebounds in a classic big man battle with Sabonis,who was whistled for a technical after a missed contested layupthat had him screaming at the officials about the no-call with 3:57left.

Neither teamled by more than five points for the entire fourth quarter, whenEdwardswent to work onceagainfor the Wolves and made baskets on three straightpossessions for a 98-95 lead with 2:12 to go.

Fox is one ofthose clutch players, too. He gave the Kings the lead twice withshots in the final 1:48 and had the chance to win it at theregulation buzzer, when his fadeaway fell short.

JadenMcDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left forthe Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence ofSabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errorson both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conferencerace, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third,with just one more win than the Wolves.

“To go intoovertime in someone else’s building and gut out a win is definitelybig,” Fox said.

EARLYBRICKS

The rims onboth ends were in an unforgiving mood. The Wolves had a season-low17 points in the first quarter. D’Angelo Russell missed his firstthree free throws after missing a total of twice from the line inhis previous 13 games.

“We tried toscrape this one out, and we made too many mistakes to get the win,”Russell said.

GHOSTTOWNS

Timberwolvesstar Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 32 games with astrainedright calf. He posted an Instagram photo over the weekendshowing his right foot in a walking boot.

“No setbacksat all,” Finch said. “Just part of the process.”

TIMESCHANGE

Three yearsand three days ago,theKings stunned the Timberwolvesby overcoming a 27-pointdeficit — they were still down 17 with 2:49 left in regulation — towin in overtime.

Only threeplayers remain on each team’s roster from that night. The only oneswho saw the floor in both the Jan. 27, 2020, game: Fox and HarrisonBarnes for Sacramento and Naz Reid for Minnesota.

TIP-INS

Kings: SGKevin Huerter went 5 for 19 from the floor and 2 for 12 from3-point range in the two-game series. ... SG Deonte Burton wassigned to a 10-day contract prior to the game, plucked from theG-League affiliate in Stockton.

Timberwolves:Backup SF Taurean Prince returned from a four-game absence with asprained left ankle. ... The Wolves shot 13 for 25 from thefree-throw line.