Continued: Wolves nip and tuck away Sacramento

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SEASON OPENER

WOLVES 98, SACRAMENTO 96

Up next: 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Dallas, Target Center, Ch. 45

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The Timberwolves recounted their past with a scoreboard video montage before Wednesday's 20th season opener. Then, in keeping with the evening's theme, they turned the game's final 25 seconds into elongated time with their heart-thumping 98-96 victory over Sacramento.

Not a single moment from Wednesday's game likely will end up in a future anniversary celebration, unless it's footage of rookie Kevin Love's 181/2-minute pro debut on a night when the Wolves led by eight points or more eight times and couldn't close the deal until John Salmons' putback basket missed just before the buzzer.

Still, the victory thrust the Wolves someplace they never approached last season: above .500.

"Honest, this is the first time in my career I think I've won the first game," said Wolves star Al Jefferson, who spent his first three seasons with Boston.

The Wolves would have made their night easier if they hadn't missed as many free throws --11 -- as they made.

They led by nine points just before halftime, then held the same margin with 3:40 remaining in the game after scoring bursts that were fueled by Love's energy and efficiency (12 points, nine rebounds, two assists).

The only points they managed the rest of the way were Ryan Gomes' crucial jumper as the shot clock expired with 78 seconds left and Mike Miller's one of two free throws with 25 seconds remaining.

That set the stage for those final 25 seconds, when the Kings got off two shots just before the buzzer and neither Kevin Martin's outside jumper nor Salmons' follow fell.

"Those last 24 seconds felt like two hours," Wolves guard Randy Foye said. "But we got it done."

While Corey Brewer's defense limited Martin to a subpar 5-for-19 shooting, 17-point night, Salmons exploited mistmatches with Miller and Rashad McCants to score 24 points that allowed the Kings to hang around until the end.

It didn't help that the Wolves struggled all night to make a free throw, starting with Foye's game-opening two misses and concluding when Miller missed one of two late that would have made it a three-point game.

"I knew we were having a bad night when Mike Miller missed three," Jefferson said.

Jefferson scored 18 points before halftime, and three after it, a disparity he attributed to himself rather than the Kings' defense.

"Honestly, nothing," Jefferson said when asked what Sacramento did differently after halftime. "I kind of let myself get taken out of my game, and I can't let that happen."

The Wolves countered by having six players score in double figures. Afterward, they quibbled with their free-throw shooting and inability to put the Kings away -- "When we're up eight or nine, we've got to just bury 'em," Foye said -- but praised their final defensive stand (except for the offensive rebound allowed) when they went with a really small lineup that matched the Kings' little one.

"That's as good as you can defend a play to get them to take the shot that they took," said Wittman, who played veteran Kevin Ollie at point guard down the stretch until 2:28 remained and then played Foye and Ollie together for the final 33 seconds. "We've got things to work on, but it's always fun to work on things after a win in the first game."

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