Chapter 108: The gutter capsizes
After the two teams entered the fourth quarter, you went back and forth, the Kings were never able to achieve a comeback, you have your Zhang Liangji, I have my ladder over the wall, and the Spurs firmly maintained their lead.
When there were 31 seconds left before the end of the race, with Caron. Butler missed a three-pointer, and after the Spurs confiscated the rebound, they played a quick counterattack to widen the gap between the two teams to eight points. The Kings served quickly in the backcourt, and after Tyrek made a layup, there were 15 seconds left in the game, the Spurs possessed the ball, and there was a 6-point difference between the two teams, and the Kings had to give up resistance at this moment, and finally the Spurs defeated the Kings again 108-102 on the road, fixing the two teams' regular season record at 2-1.
Although the Kings lost this game again, the difference in strength between the two teams is not very large, and it is more due to the lack of experience. Tyrek picked up in the second half, but he didn't become the team's hero in this game, scoring 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 7-of-20 shooting in the game. Cousins, the core of another major team, also rebounded slightly in the second half, but it was far from his season average, scoring 14 points and 7 rebounds on 5-of-17 shooting in the game, which can be said to be the worst performance of the Kings in this game.
The two losses so far this season are due to the Spurs, after the game, the disappointed Kings players walked through the tunnel with a grim face and left the court, Cousins even ignored the handshake of fans on both sides of the tunnel, and Tyrek was not in a good mood, but he still patiently signed the fans.
At the post-game press conference, the Kings were attended only by Coach Westafar and Terrick.
"Mr. Westfaal, the team's record this season is going well, which is a surprise to many, but at the moment they have lost home and away to the Spurs, and the Spurs are the only team the team has lost to so far, what do you think about that?"
Coach Westphall frowned, slowly took the microphone and said: "Although the boys didn't play perfectly in today's game, more of the blame lies with me, I couldn't adjust the team's condition...... Belch...... But don't worry too much, although the team lost to the Spurs twice, wins and defeats are commonplace, and now we should focus on the next game...... Well...... That's ......"
Coach Westafal took the blame for the defeat in front of the media, knowing that their current record of two consecutive defeats to the same team would definitely have an impact on the mentality of the players.
"Mr. Evans, the team lost to the Spurs twice, do you think the team will continue to be as strong as it was at the beginning of the season?"
"Uh...... The current 14-2 record shouldn't be bad......" Tyrek asked rhetorically, feeling depressed by the loss, already disgusted by some of the reporter's unnecessary questions.
That's the way the NBA league is, there's no time to bask in the frustration of back-to-back losses to the Spurs, who are about to travel to Minneapolis to face the Timberwolves, and the emotion of losing must be put behind them.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished at the bottom of the West last season, have won the University of Arizona's Derrick Timberwolves this season. There have been no special personnel changes other than Williams, but the Timberwolves' 7-9 record is still a certain improvement from last season.
The team's main player Kevin. Love has evolved again this season after his first All-Star last season and won the Most Improved Player and Rebounding title, with a super double-double machine and a super interior scorer being his labels today.
However, the strength of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season is not comparable to that of the Sacramento Kings, although the Kings have lost to the Spurs twice, but with the Kings' record at the moment, no one believes that they lost to the target center arena.
Nothing is completely certain, though, just as who would have thought before the start of the season that the Kings would have the best record in the league so far, and everyone in this game decided that the Timberwolves would not make any waves in front of the Kings......
Ricky. Rubio, Luke. Ridno, Derek. Williams, Kevin. Lefou, Nicola. Pekovic's five-man Timberwolves starting lineup was clearly no match for the Kings, and as expected, the Kings quickly seized the initiative and built a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter of the game, even if the rotation lineup was changed, the Kings still pressed the Timberwolves to play, these two teams are indeed not at the same level now, the gap between the strength of the players is indeed quite large, and the half-time game is not over, and the Kings have even widened the difference to nearly 20 points!
At halftime, the Kings' two underperformers, Tyrek and Cousins, scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, and the Kings also entered the break with an 18-point lead.
Just when everyone thought that the dust had basically settled on this game, the Timberwolves played a Jedi counterattack in the second half!
Timberwolves star Kevin Brown. Lefu played mediocre in the first half, 8 points and 6 boards were not outstanding, but in the second half, Lefu suddenly broke out, inside singles, outside long-range shots, no one can stop, how to play, no matter how you try any way to defend, you can't do anything, even if you face the double bag, Lefu has a way to throw the ball into the basket!
Under the leadership of Lefou, the Timberwolves played an offensive wave, relying on Lefou's containment, the Timberwolves played a group of players with poor individual ability to beat the Kings and collapsed.
The Timberwolves' defense is not outstanding, but if you don't shoot one, I will beat you again, one comes and goes, one is better, and the Kings are helpless to see the point difference being narrowed rapidly.
Finally, with the cheers of the fans at the target center arena, the Timberwolves actually completed a comeback of nearly 20 points in the fourth quarter! The Target Center Arena is almost crazy!
At this moment, the balance of victory has tilted in favor of the Timberwolves, although the individual strength of the Kings players is obviously better than the Timberwolves, but at this time, the atmosphere, anxious mood, and sluggish state obviously affect everyone in the Kings team......
At the end of the game, it was Love who hit a difficult three-pointer in the back-and-forth interception of West and Jimmy, giving the Timberwolves a five-point lead over the Kings, which was the last straw that broke the camel's back! The powerless Kings swallowed two consecutive defeats at the Target Center Arena! The Timberwolves completed a perfect halftime comeback!
Kevin. Lefu directed this thrilling performance alone, shooting 15 of 21 in the game, 5 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, and slashing a super double-double of 42 points and 17 boards!
thought it was a must-win game, but the Kings unexpectedly capsized, and the Kings, who ushered in two consecutive defeats, have reached the bottom of the season at this moment......