Anthony Edwards capped a 32-point performance with two tiebreaking free throws with 2.4 seconds left, Julius Randle scored a game-high 33 points and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves pulled out a 117-115 victory in the Sacramento Kings’ season opener Thursday night.
Edwards got to the free-throw line after drawing a foul from Domantas Sabonis with the score tied at 115-115.
Keegan Murray misfired on a potential winning 26-footer at the buzzer as the Timberwolves won their first game after their season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The tight finish came after a three-point play by Malik Monk had given Sacramento a 115-114 lead with 53.3 seconds left.
Minnesota had a chance to retake the lead, but Rudy Gobert missed the second of two free throws with 38.2 seconds left, leaving the score tied at 115-115.
The Kings then rushed the ball up the court, only to see De’Aaron Fox miss from 18 feet, setting up Edwards’ heroics.
Randle’s 33 points came on the heels of a 16-point effort in his Timberwolves debut in Los Angeles. He hit 13 of his 17 shots Thursday, including five of his six 3-point attempts.
Naz Reid had 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds off the bench for the Timberwolves, while Gobert finished with 11 rebounds and just three points.
DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 26 points in his debut for Sacramento, which led by 12 points midway through the third quarter. Sabonis added 24 points, while Murray tallied 23 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Fox had 15 points and a team-high 11 assists.
With Edwards and Randle hitting five 3-pointers apiece, the Timberwolves outscored the hosts 60-33 from beyond the 3-point arc, going 20-for-50. The Kings finished 11-for-29.
–Field Level Media
