SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Center DeMarcus Cousins moved up a notch on the Kings’ all-time scoring list, added to his single-season club record for double-doubles and scored the game’s most important points in Sacramento’s 106-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Sleep Train Arena on Sunday.
However, he seemed far from happy.
Cousins finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and six steals. Yet, it was a technical foul he picked up in the game’s final minute that seemed to define his mood after the Kings (28-53) broke a five-game losing streak and matched the number of victories they earned last season.
Cousins stewed for several minutes after the contest and showed visible signs of disappointment on the floor after picking up the technical foul with 1:13 to go in the final quarter. The technical was Cousins’ 16th of the season, likely ensuring that he will have to sit out the team’s season finale against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Cousins said after picking up his first technical foul since Feb. 25, a span of 23 contests. Cousins is tied with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant for the NBA lead in technicals, and his total is one fewer than it was a season ago. Reducing the emotional outbursts was a point of emphasis both by Cousins and the Kings this season.
Cousins was hit for what looked like a minor outburst after a foul called on Kings forward Travis Outlaw. Cousins responded by driving the baseline for a dunk with 24.2 seconds left and converting two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining.
After the game, Kings coach Michael Malone indicated the team may protest the technical.
“I feel for him,” Malone said. “He has made a concerted effort to control his emotions and not getting that 16th technical. It’s disappointing because it meant a lot to him. … We’re going to look into it and see what we can do.”
Minnesota forward Kevin Love, the NBA’s leader with 63 double-doubles, finished with 43 points and 11 rebounds after returning from a one-game absence caused by a hyperextended elbow, but the Timberwolves (40-40) failed in a bid for their 41st victory. Minnesota hasn’t finished a season with at least a .500 record since 2004-05.
The Timberwolves were done in by their lack of inside defense. The Kings outscored Minnesota 54-46 in the paint.
“Defense just wasn’t good enough in the second half,” Love said. “Offensively, we were fine. They just went on a run and kind of never looked back.”
Kings guard Isaiah Thomas returned from a 10-game absence caused by a deep bruise in his right thigh muscle, and he scored 14 points in 30 minutes. His 3-pointer and one by guard Ray McCallum helped fuel a 26-15 run in the third quarter that put the Kings back in it after they were down 59-49 early in the third.
McCallum, who averaged 44.6 minutes per contest during Thomas’ absence, added 11 points and six assists, and rookie guard Ben McLemore had 19 points for Sacramento.
“It was great to see him back out there,” McCallum said of Thomas. “I thought we played well off each other. Having two point guards is tough for the other team to defend.”
Forward Derrick Williams had 13 points in his first start in a month for Sacramento, which played without forward Rudy Gay (back) for the third time in four games. Forward Reggie Evans also did not play for Sacramento. Forward Jason Thompson finished with 11 rebounds, his 18th double-digit rebound game.
Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng scored 21 points, and forward Luc Mbah a Moute had 12. However, guards Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio were a combined 0-for-12 shooting from the floor and combined to score two points. Rubio finished with 11 assists.
“Our guards didn’t shoot the ball well at all,” Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. “We had nothing on the outside other than Kevin (Love), so it’s hard to win with that.”
Minnesota guard Corey Brewer, coming off a 51-point, six-steal contest on Friday in a 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets, scored only 10 points on 2-for-8 shooting in 30 minutes. Guard J.J. Barrera made only two of 11 shots from the field and finished with five points and seven assists.
The Kings and Timberwolves split their season series, with three of the meetings decided by three points or fewer. Minnesota last won three straight against Sacramento in 2003-04, and it failed in a bid to do so Sunday.
NOTES: Fans at Sleep Train Arena gave Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman a standing ovation when he was introduced before the game. Adelman, who is dropping hints that he may retire after the season, remains the most successful coach in Sacramento Kings history. He guided the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 1998-2006. The team has made the playoffs 10 times in its 29 Sacramento seasons. … Minnesota will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season, and Sacramento will be absent for the eighth year in a row. … Minnesota G Corey Brewer joined Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Rick Barry and likely future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as the only players to record at least 50 points and six steals in the same game when he did so Friday against the Houston Rockets. … F Derrick Williams made his first start in 17 games and 14th for the Kings in place of F Rudy Gay. He joined Sacramento in a November trade that sent F Luc Mbah a Moute to Minnesota.