By Kyle Ratke

Every game is very important for a Wolves team that has been a bit sporadic all season long. The playoff window isn’t that big, but at least for the Wolves; it didn’t get any smaller after they defeated the Kings 104-102 on Sunday night at the Target Center.

It looked like it was going to be a blowout early on. The Wolves had a 29-19 lead early in the first, but after a Mike Malone timeout, former Minnesota forward Derrick Williams led a 10-3 run to put the deficit at 32-29. Kevin Martin, who scored 26 points in his last game against the Kings, led Minnesota with 12 points. Kevin Love had nine and the Wolves shot 52.4 percent from the field. Derrick Williams led the Kings with 10 points.

That run continued in the second quarter as the Kings outscored Minnesota 25-21 in the second period. At the break, the Kings were shooting 53.7 percent compared to Minnesota’s mark of 46.2. Martin led the Wolves with 16 points, eight coming from the free-throw line (this would be a theme for the night). Kevin added 13. Williams led the Kings with 16.

Minnesota started the third quarter on a 9-2 run, but Sacramento fought back and trailed just 77-74 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter got interesting. It looked like Minnesota had things wrapped up, leading 100-95 with 16.7 seconds left. Isaiah Thomas had other plans as he hit two 3-pointer in 10 seconds. The only thing that kept the Wolves ahead were four free-throws from the sharpshooting Martin in the final 12.1 seconds.

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