Garnett king of Game 7
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Garnett jumped atop the scorer’s table and made a huge footprint in the chalk dust before saluting a screaming sellout crowd.
The league’s MVP left his mark all over this game, too, putting the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals with one of the greatest performances of his career.
Garnett had 32 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks on his 28th birthday, and the Timberwolves held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 83-80 Wednesday night in Game 7 of their semifinal series.
“I felt like I had to be the example to everybody,” Garnett said.
The victory wasn’t assured until Chris Webber’s 3-point attempt spun around the rim and out as the final buzzer sounded, giving star-crossed Sacramento a Game 7 playoff loss for a third straight year.
“I definitely thought the last shot was good,” Webber said. “It did everything but go in.”
Minnesota will host the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been idle since Saturday, in Game 1 of the conference finals Friday night.
With the Timberwolves clinging to a three-point lead, the Kings had a final possession to tie. Doug Christie’s off-balance 3-pointer was an airball, and Brad Miller’s layup attempt off the rebound was blocked by Garnett into the seats near Sacramento co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.
The Kings got another inbounds pass with 2.2 seconds remaining. Webber pump-faked Garnett in the air and got a clean look as Garnett avoided contact.
“I thought it was going down,” coach Rick Adelman said. “But it just didn’t happen.”
Webber, who had 16 points, collapsed to his knees in disappointment after Sacramento failed again, just as the Kings did against Lakers in 2002 and last year against Dallas.
“I’ve had some real special presents on my birthday, but nothing like this,” said Garnett, who hugged Webber before going to celebrate.
“K.G. is probably my favorite player in the league,” said Webber, whose readjustment to his team was a struggle after he returned from a knee injury in early March. “I love going against him. He told me to get healthy, keep my head up.”
Christie, Sacramento’s sixth-leading scorer during the season, had 21 points as his team’s unlikely leader. Mike Bibby added 15 points, and Miller had 11.
“We just kept fighting, man,” Miller said. “I think that’s what it’s all about.”
Sam Cassell played through an ailing back and returned to form with 23 points and seven assists for Minnesota. Latrell Sprewell added 14, and Wally Szczerbiak had 10 off the bench.
The Kings, who trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, were down only four when Garnett delivered a big blow. As the shot clock ran down, he hit a 3-pointer over Miller and Bibby to make it 77-70 Minnesota with 3:39 remaining.
Sacramento cut a nine-point deficit to four, 79-75, when Bibby made a 3-pointer in the corner with 1:40 left. After Garnett threw the ball out of bounds, the Kings missed a chance to cut it to two when Webber missed a wide-open layup with one minute to go.
Still down by four, they blew another opportunity when Garnett stole the ball from Miller and made one of two foul shots with 31.1 seconds left.
Bibby hit a pair of free throws, cutting it to 80-77, but Sprewell made one of two to make it a four-point game. Christie’s 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds on the clock sliced the lead to one, and Cassell sank both of his foul shots to make it 83-80.
A day after apologizing for war-weapon metaphors he used to describe his mindset, Garnett played his usual high-energy game at both ends of the court on the biggest night in the franchise’s 15 seasons.
“Seven games a lot of times define who you are, and a lot of times the bigger the game the bigger the guy who steps up,” Wolves coach Flip Saunders said.
After seven straight first-round losses, Garnett is finally having a positive postseason experience — but he couldn’t have done it without his teammates.
Cassell, who had 40 points in Game 1 but just 62 over the last five, had 11 points in the first quarter and went 10 for 11 from the line despite grimacing every time he ran up and down the court.
Szczerbiak used a six-inch advantage on Bibby to score all 10 of his points in the second quarter. He turned three rebounds into points.
Minnesota was especially sharp on defense. Sacramento’s offense never found its rhythm. Webber went 8 for 17 for 16 points, Peja Stojakovic shot 3 for 12 and Bibby was just 4 for 13. The Kings missed nine of their 17 free throw attempts, too.
Sacramento took its first lead, 58-57, on Webber’s jumper with 1:55 left in the third quarter. It didn’t last long: Cassell’s 3-pointer with 33.9 seconds remaining put Minnesota back in front, 62-60.
Notes
The last Game 7 win in Kings history was 1981, when Kansas City beat Phoenix in the conference semis.