SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Although the youthful Minnesota Timberwolves are looking toward the future, they are still focused on finishing this disappointing season strong.
Gorgui Dieng had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Zach LaVine and Nemanja Bjelica also scored 18 points, and the Timberwolves beat the Sacramento Kings 105-97 on Thursday night.
LaVine scored all his points in the opening half, when the Timberwolves established a quick tempo and went into halftime with a 58-51 lead. The athletic LaVine made four 3-pointers and had an exciting breakaway dunk.
"The win was nice. But the main thing for us is building for next season," LaVine said. "We want to be in the playoffs next season, so right now we are playing hard and training ourselves for that."
The Timberwolves led for most of the game in following up their victory at Golden State by sweeping the four-game series against the Kings for the first time in franchise history.
The Kings were a long way from resembling Golden State. Kings coach George Karl rested DeMarcus Cousins, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, and Rajon Rondo, who leads the NBA in assists.
"The key was we respected Sacramento even without their important players," said Bjelica, who made four 3-pointers and had a career-high point total. "We want to try and win every game and finish this season strong."
Karl-Anthony Towns had his 50th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points for the Timberwolves.
"He (Towns) is very good, he's very solid, he's got a lot of intangibles to his game and he's so young," said Kosta Koufos, who picked up three quick fouls in the opening quarter while guarding the No. 1 pick. "He's going to have a very, very bright future ahead of himself."
