SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Timberwolves starters didn't seem too interested in putting away a team they should have Tuesday night. Luckily for the Wolves, their bench was there to make sure nothing funny happened.
The Wolves defeated the shorthanded Kings 134-114 behind another sterling effort from their bench and 22 3-pointers to win their fifth consecutive game.
Malik Beasley continued his upswing from outside with 21 points on seven 3-pointers. Naz Reid pitched in 12 while point guard Jordan McLaughlin smoothly ran the whole operation with 11 points and 11 assists. That helped make up for a 2-for-12 night from Anthony Edwards (five points) while Karl-Anthony Towns had a dependable 25 points and nine rebounds. The Wolves had 72 bench points.
The Kings were playing shorthanded Tuesday after making a major trade earlier in the day for Indiana center Domantas Sabonis. The Kings sent out promising young guard Tyrese Haliburton, sharpshooter Buddy Hield and forward Tristan Thompson for Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2023 second-round pick, according to reports.
It's unknown when Sabonis, Lamb and Holiday will be available to play and if that will be for Wednesday's Kings-Wolves encore in Sacramento.
The Kings' depleted roster still went bucket for bucket with the Wolves as Minnesota didn't play much defense. The Wolves offense was clicking — they shot 53% in the half and 60% from 3-point range — but they led only 73-67 at the half. Sacramento shot 59%.
The Wolves got a jolt from their bench, which scored 34 points on a combined 13-for-18. The bench enabled the Wolves to take a 10-point lead at 56-46 with 7:06 remaining in the first half.
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