Collison's late free throws help Kings cling to win over Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS – Sacramento guard Darren Collison made two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining, and Minnesota guard Troy Daniels’ 3-point shot at the buzzer came up short as the Kings defeated the Timberwolves 110-107 Thursday at Target Center.
Forward Shabazz Muhammad drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 5 seconds left to pull Minnesota within one before Collison made two from the free-throw line.
Minnesota inbounded the ball at half court and got Daniels a good look, but his shot missed.
The victory snapped a brief two-game losing skid for the Kings, but was just their third win in their past 12 games.
For Minnesota, the loss was its 10th straight.
The Kings opened the game with an 8-0 run and pushed their lead to double digits less than five minutes in.
The early energy on offense made the Timberwolves chase the rest of the game. Minnesota would tie the game once in the third quarter and once more in the fourth, but could never wrestle a lead away.
“We did some good things in the game tonight,” Kings coach Tyrone Corbin said. “Offensively, we did a great job. We shot 54 percent and scored 110 points. But to get them down after they shot 50 percent in the first half, I thought our defense got better.”
Down five with 5:43 to play in the fourth, rookie guard Andrew Wiggins scored four straight points, including an impressive spinning drive into the lane for a lay-in to make it a 99-98 game.
The Wolves forced a turnover and tied the score for the final time on a free throw by forward Thaddeus Young, but he missed the second free throw, and forward Derrick Williams drilled a 3 to give Sacramento the lead for good.
Sacramento 37 23 24 26 - 110
Minnesota 29 29 22 27 - 107
SACRAMENTO (110)
D.Collison 8-15 4-4 21, McLemore 6-9 1-2 14, Gay 7-12 7-8 21, Dr.Williams 6-10 2-2 17, Cousins 8-14 3-3 19, Landry 1-4 6-8 8, J.Thompson 3-3 2-2 8, Stauskas 0-4 0-0 0, McCallum 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 40-74 25-29 110.
MINNESOTA (107)
Wiggins 11-22 4-5 27, Muhammad 5-13 4-5 15, Dieng 7-10 1-4 15, T.Young 4-8 1-2 9, Lavine 3-5 0-0 6, Mo.Williams 3-10 0-0 8, Bennett 2-7 0-0 4, Adrien 3-5 4-4 10, Daniels 3-7 2-2 11, Budinger 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 42-91 16-22 107.
3-Point Goals: Sacramento 5-12 (Dr.Williams 3-6, D.Collison 1-2, McLemore 1-2, Stauskas 0-2), Minnesota 7-24 (Daniels 3-7, Mo.Williams 2-5, Muhammad 1-4, Wiggins 1-4, Bennett 0-1, Budinger 0-1, T.Young 0-2). Fouled out: Gay, Cousins. Rebounds: Sacramento 48 (Landry 9), Minnesota 45 (Dieng 10). Assists: Sacramento 23 (D.Collison 6), Minnesota 22 (Mo.Williams 8). Total Fouls: Sacramento 26 (Gay, Cousins 6), Minnesota 24 (Muhammad, T.Young, Dieng 4). A-13,337.