Game #1 Recap: Kings vs. Timberwolves.

Kings-

Starting Line-up:

• Beno Udrih
• Francisco Garcia
• Donté Greene
• Carl Landry
• DeMarcus Cousins

Reserves:

• Jason Thomson, Omri Casspi, Pooh Jeter, Darnell Jackson, Luther Head, Hassan Whiteside.

Injuries/suspension/inactive: Samuel Dalembert (adductor)- Out. Tyreke Evans (league suspension)- Out. Antoine Wright- inactive.

Timberwolves:

• Luke Ridnour
• Wayne Ellington
• Michael Beasley
• Kevin Love
• Darko Milicic

Reserves:

• Pekovic, Brewer, Hayward, Telfair, W. Johnson, Koufos, Tolliver.

Injuries: Johnny Flynn (hip)- Out. Martell Webster- Out.

First Quarter Recap:

The game started with Darko Milicic scoring in the post. For the most part, it was a back and forth quarter with both teams holding leads. DeMarcus Cousins struggled in his first 6 minutes of play and was replaced by Jason Thompson. Thompson wasn’t much better, going 0-3 from the floor, but adding 3 points on free throws. Donté Greene buried a three and played well against Micheal Beasley, holding him to 0 points on 0-2 from the field. Carl Landry, Francisco Garcia and Beno Udrih all played well pushing the team to a 4 point lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

Kings  27  T-Wolves  23

Leaders:

Kings- Landry (7) points and (3) rebounds; Udrih (3) assists.

T-Wolves- Ridnour (9) points; Love (6) rebounds; three players tied (1) assist.

FG%- Kings 47.6%  T-Wolves 38.5%

Rebounds- Kings 11  T-Wolves 14

Assist/Turnover- Kings 8/2  T-Wolves 3/3

Second Quarter Recap:

In the second, the game continued to be a back and forth affair. The Kings’ bench, led by Luther Head, Omri Casspi and Darnell Jackson impressed throughout the quarter, but the T-Wolves’ Michael Beasley was too much to handle.  After a quiet first, the talented Beasley put up 8 in the quarter and the Wolves pushed the lead up to 9, but finished the quarter up 5.  Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins put up 5 points and 3 rebounds in the quarter, but picked up his 3rd personal and had to sit. Francisco Garcia matched his 6 points from the 1st quarter with another 6, and Beno continued his quality play as well. Westphal had used all 11 available players on the roster, even turning to rookie Hassan Whiteside for a short stretch.

Kings  53  T-Wolves  58

Leaders:

Kings- Garcia (12) points; Landry (6) rebounds; Landry/Udrih (3) assists.

T-Wolves- Ridnour (11) points; Love (10) rebounds; Telfair (3) assists.

FG%- Kings 46.5%  T-Wolves 45.7%

Rebounds- Kings 22  T-Wolves 24

Assist/Turnover- Kings 13/7  T-Wolves 8/6

Third Quarter Recap:

The Kings came out hot, putting up 13 in the first 3 minutes of the quarter to take a 66-60 lead. The Kings went on an 18-4 run to push the lead to nine- 71-62, getting contributions from all five starters. The Wolves responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead after the Kings forced a handful of poor shots. The third was definitely a game of runs and the best player on the floor tonight was Francisco Garcia.

Kings  87  T-Wolves  83

Leaders:

Kings- Garcia (21) points; Landry (8) rebounds; Garcia/Udrih (4) assists.

T-Wolves- Ridnour (15) points; Love (10) rebounds; Telfair (6) assists.

FG%- Kings  49.3%  T-Wolves  47.6%

Rebounds- Kings 33 T-Wolves 32

Assist/Turnover- Kings 19/10  T-Wolves 16/12

Fourth Quarter Recap:

The fourth was back and forth just like every other quarter. The Kings used strong fourth quarter performances by Carl Landry and Luther Head to finish off the T-Wolves. Rookie DeMarcus Cousins did an amazing job of playing with 5 fouls through most of the quarter. The big man put up an impressive 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in his first NBA game. The starting backcourt of Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia combined for 40 points and 10 assists. Garcia started in place of suspended Tyreke Evans. Everyone who was available tonight played. Almost all of the 11 added something to the victory. Luke Ridnour played extremely well as did Sebastian Telfair and rookie Wesley Johnson.

Kings Win!

Kings  117  T-Wolves 116

Leaders:

Kings- Garcia/Landry (22) points; Landry (10) rebounds; Beno (6) assists.

T-Wolves- Ridnour (20) points; Love (10) rebounds; Ridnour/Telfair (6) assists.

FG%- Kings  45.9%  T-Wolves  47.3

Rebounds- Kings  45  T-Wolves  46

Assist/Turnover- Kings 25/13  T-Wolves 22/13

Player of the Game: Carl Landry- 22 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists.

The Difference Maker: Luther Head- 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks.

The Play of the Game: Beno Udrih drive left, draws a crowd and hits a cutting Omri Casspi for a huge dunk.