SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Timberwolves entered Wednesday with a chance to win six consecutive games in a season for the first time since 2004.
The timing of that potential feat came mere hours before Thursday's trade deadline, when executive vice president Sachin Gupta holds the final decision over whether to tweak the roster which nearly accomplished that.
First things first, the Wolves lost to the Kings 132-119, and failed to reach that mark.
The Kings were a different team than the night before with Domantas Sabonis and Justin Holiday joining the roster fresh off a trade with Indiana.
Anthony Edwards bounced back from an off night to score 26 points and D'Angelo Russell caught fire for 29 for the Wolves while Sabonis had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for Sacramento.
The Wolves opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter before the bench that had carried them to recent victories squandered it late in the first and early in the second. The Wolves' sieve-like defense showed up again and with Sacramento adding an All-Star to the floor in Sabonis, the mistakes in ball containment showed in the second quarter. The Kings shot 51% in the first half and were 7-for-13 from 3-point range in the second quarter. They put up 42 in the quarter to take a 71-64 lead into halftime.
The Wolves re-took the lead in the third simply because they outscored the Kings, as various points of the third became a layup drill. Russell had 15 in the quarter to propel the Wolves ahead 101-99 headed into the fourth.
Before the game, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch reiterated what he said a week ago regarding the roster and the trade deadline – that the Wolves weren't looking to make any major shakeups to the current team.
"We're really, really happy with our guys right now, not just with their production but with their overall mood. It's really strong …" Finch said. "We're just focused on these guys and we're not necessarily looking to do anything significant."
Gupta said in early January he was not looking to make a move for the sake of making one, considering he has not been named the permanent head of basketball operations after Gersson Rosas was fired in September. Gupta told the Star Tribune the Wolves would be "buyers" at the deadline but with an eye toward improving the team over the next few years, and not necessarily just for this season.
He was also mindful that the Wolves have a chance to move up the Western Conference standings but doesn't want to sacrifice assets for a short-term fix.
"Generally I would say we're buyers over the long term," Gupta said then.
If the Wolves look to make an acquisition, there is sentiment around the league they could make a play for a two-way player. They have been linked to Celtics guard Marcus Smart in various reports.
Finch and Gupta talk about the team's needs frequently, and Finch said if the opportunity presented itself for the Wolves to make a bigger move, they would do it, but they're mindful of not wanting to make too big an impact on the current roster.
"We're mindful of everything that is going on in the environment of our team," Finch said. "From young players emerging to the depth that we've found with our bench to how our starting lineup has played so well together. There's a lot of things that affect that chemistry or have added to that chemistry. We're extremely sensitive to that."
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