Minnesota @ Sacramento preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 27, 2020 ) Sacramento 133, Minnesota 129

No loss in the Minnesota Timberwolves' recent swoon stings worse than a 133-129 overtime setback at home against the Sacramento Kings last week, during which they squandered a 27-point lead. The Timberwolves will try to exact some revenge and snap an 11-game slide when they visit the Kings on Monday.

Minnesota held a 17-point advantage with less than three minutes left last Monday against Sacramento before melting down and dropped a 118-106 decision at the Los Angeles Clippers to begin the two-game trip on Saturday. "Losing is losing," Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins told reporters after the team matched its longest slide of the season on Saturday. "It's hard to stay positive if you're losing. No one wants to lose. We're fighting but we just need to play with more determination, with that fire." The Kings dropped two of three since that comeback win over Minnesota and are coming off a 129-113 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in which they were outscored 44-22 in the first quarter and never fully recovered. Buddy Hield, who led the way with 42 points off the bench at the Timberwolves, scored 22 points in Saturday's setback.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: FS North, NBCS California, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (15-33): Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns is doing his best to pull the team to a win and collected 32 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's setback. "You've got to try your best," Towns told reporters. "This is what we do. This is our jobs. We've got to go out there and find ways to win because our livelihoods are on the line every single day. We have to go out there, do this for each other, obviously because without each other we can't accomplish anything individually." Wiggins had a string of four straight games scoring 20 or more points come to an end when he was held to 13 on 4-of-11 shooting at the Clippers.

ABOUT THE KINGS (18-31): Hield was pushed to a reserve role over a week ago and the move seems to have sparked the Oklahoma product, who is averaging 23.4 points on 52.6 percent shooting over the last five games. The last five games have seen an uptick in production as well from point guard De'Aaron Fox, who is also averaging 23.4 points in that stretch but committed seven turnovers in Saturday's setback. Fox averaged 22.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting and 7.6 assists in 14 games last month.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kings C Dewayne Dedmon (illness) sat out Saturday and is day-to-day.

2. Timberwolves PG Shabazz Napier collected 11 points and 10 assists on Saturday - his second game with at least a double-double in the last three games after recording a triple-double against Oklahoma City on Jan. 25.

3. Minnesota earned a 105-104 overtime victory at Sacramento on Dec. 26.

PREDICTION: Kings 121, Timberwolves 118