Why the Kings’ reserves dominated the minutes against the Timberwolves

Buddy Hield celebrated his 25th birthday by coming out on fire.

He made six of his first seven shots, including all four 3-pointers, while scoring 16 of the Kings’ initial 17 points before missing his final shot of the opening period.

His teammates weren’t nearly as hot. The rest of the Kings shot just 3 of 16 in the first quarter as eight Minnesota Timberwolves players made shots en route to a 38-23 lead and an eventual 132-105 victory Monday night at Target Center.

By then, coach Dave Joerger already decided to save his players for the next game. Three starters played seven minutes or fewer. Guard De’Aaron Fox and former Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica didn't score in 11 combined minutes. Willie Cauley-Stein made one free throw in seven minutes.

Hield was the only King on the floor at tipoff who logged decent time. He scored a team-high 21 points in 18 minutes.

“He was a large part of any offensive success we were having,” Joerger said. “We were struggling to score. We came out and played isolation basketball, and that’s not who we are. We’ve got to be better.”

Meanwhile, seven of eight reserves played at least 21 minutes, and a few were making their first appearances in a while.

“I’m happy that the guys stayed ready to play, because everybody has a role,” Joerger said. “You’re going to have some nights like these. I commend those guys for going out there, being professional, playing hard and taking the minutes.”

One player who received significant time was seldom-used forward Skal Labissiere. He entered the game early in the second period and logged 28 minutes while scoring nine points. Going in, his 5.1 minutes per game was last on the team and he hadn’t played in the Kings’ last nine games, but he had no problem stepping up when his coach called on him.

“I’ve been staying ready since the season started,” Labissiere said. “Whenever I saw my role went down, I just stayed working. Stay grinding. That’s what I can do.”

The hosts appeared ready as well. They shot 58 percent while running out to a 30-point halftime lead.

Sacramento opened the second half with no starters, but the reserves climbed to within 12 behind a 21-3 run. Minnesota called a timeout to stop the bleeding, but Joerger said he didn’t plan on getting his starters up.

“We got off to a slow start and I just didn’t feel like putting those guys back in,” Joerger said. “I didn’t think it was going to be worth it.”

The Timberwolves then outscored the Kings 26-12 to put the game out of reach. Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points to lead nine Minnesota players in double figures.

The Kings (16-14) and Timberwolves (14-16) have played three times this season, with Sacramento winning the first two at home.

Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t seem too shocked about the low minutes for the starters.

“Dave knows his team. I think he wanted to see where they were at the start, and then he made a decision,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes, you know when you should do that. They’re a terrific team.”

The Kings were coming off a win Sunday in Dallas that snapped the Mavericks’ 11-game home winning streak, but they wouldn’t blame being on the second night of a back-to-back as the reason they lost Monday.

“We can’t make any excuses about that,” said center Kosta Koufos, who had four points and a team-high eight rebounds in 23 minutes. “Give credit where credit is due. They played hard and they came out and played aggressive. For us, it’s a learning experience, move on, turn the page. We have another game coming up.”

The Kings have played seven of their 14 back-to-backs. They’re 6-8 in those games and have swept one, the Florida swing Oct. 29-30.

According to Labissiere, it’s something the team will work on as they learn to find the energy for these two-game sets.

“We’ve been struggling with this all year,” he said. “I think as we mature, we will figure it out.”

When the Kings resume play Wednesday at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder — another team Sacramento has beaten twice — it will begin a stretch of five games in nine days, ending with a Clippers-Lakers Los Angeles double that spans both cities Dec. 26-27.

“So far, we’ve had a great season and we have a good team coming in with OKC, so we need to look forward to that one,” Koufos said.

This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 12:31 AM.