Kings at Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves posted consecutive victories for the first time this season and aim to make it three in a row when they host the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Minnesota took down the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks and won three of its past four games, accounting for one-third of the team's victories this season.
Second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 17 points and 18 rebounds in Wednesday's 92-84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, and the double-double was his ninth in a row. Towns is averaging 21.8 points and 16.7 rebounds during the stretch and collected 15 or more rebounds in each of the past three games. Sacramento has a red-hot player in star post performer DeMarcus Cousins, who is averaging 32.4 points over the past five games - including a season-best 55-point effort in Tuesday's 126-121 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Cousins was just 5-of-18 from the field while scoring 21 points in Wednesday's 94-93 road victory over the Utah Jazz.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE KINGS (12-17): Veteran point guard Ty Lawson is earning the confidence of coach Dave Joerger and scored a season-best 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the win over the Jazz. The 29-year-old Lawson once was a highly productive player for the Denver Nuggets before some alcohol-related issues derailed his career, and he averaged 17.5 points in Sacramento's back-to-back wins. "He can do so many things with the ball, to be the smallest guy on the floor and getting in the battle with the trees," Cousins told reporters after the Utah contest. "He does it all for us. The bench and his performance alone, they won the game for us. That is plain and simple."
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (9-19): Small forward Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points against the Hawks and reached double digits in 16 consecutive games. Wiggins scored more than 20 points just six times during the stretch and hasn't been able to have a huge performance, partly because his 3-point shooting (9-for-32 in December) has been suspect. Wiggins scored 29 points in an opening-week loss to the Kings after averaging 23 points in four meetings last season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Kings registered a 106-103 victory on Oct. 29 to halt the Timberwolves' four-game winning streak in the series.
2. Minnesota PG Ricky Rubio is averaging 9.3 assists over the past four games but did commit a season-worst six turnovers against the Hawks.
3. Sacramento SF Rudy Gay (hip flexor) will likely miss his sixth consecutive game.