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Sacramento Kings eliminated from play-off

Minneapolis, 19 May 2004

Kevin 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 in Game 7 of their semifinal series.

Kevin Garnett drives for a shot attempt over Chris Webber and Vlade Divac

Author: AFP

The victory wasn't assured until Chris Webber's 3-point attempt went in and out at the final buzzer, giving Sacramento a Game 7 playoff loss for a third straight year. Minnesota will host the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been idle since Saturday, in Game 1 of the conference finals Friday night.

Chris 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.

Christie had 21 points for Sacramento, Mike Bibby added 15 points and Miller had 11.

Sam Cassell 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 by 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.

Minnesota was especially sharp on defense. Sacramento's offense never found its rhythm. Webber went 8-for-17 for 16 points, Predrag "Peja" Stojakovic shot 3-for-12 and Bibby was just 4-for-13. The Kings missed nine of their 17 free throw attempts, too.