MINNEAPOLIS – Bonzi Wells hit a 3 pointer from the corner as time expired to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 93-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Wells appeared to hand the Timberwolves their sixth victory in seven games when he missed one of two free throws with 28 seconds left, leaving the deficit at 91-89. Trenton Hassell’s driving layup gave the Wolves a lead 2 seconds earlier.

But Kevin Garnett missed a tough baseline jumper over Shareef Abdur-Rahim on the other end and Peja Stojakovic corralled a rare rebound for the Kings to set up the final play.

Brad Miller caught an inbounds pass out past the 3-point line with 2.7 seconds to play and heaved a desperate pass to Wells in the corner.

Wells caught it and unleashed a rainbow over Hassell’s outstretched hand that swished through the net just as the buzzer sounded. The play was review and the call stood.

Wells finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and seven rebounds for the Kings, who have now won three in a row after losing five straight.

Wally Szczerbiak led the Wolves with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Garnett had 22 points and five assists and Marko Jaric chipped in 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Abdur-Rahim scored nine of his 19 points in the final 6:30, including a 3-pointer from the top of the arc that cut Minnesota’s lead to 87-86 with 1:24 to go.

After Garnett hit two free throws, Mike Bibby tied the game at 89 with another 3-pointer from the left wing, and Wells finished off the stunned Timberwolves to cap a thrilling final period.

The Timberwolves pounded the Kings on the boards all night long, finishing with a 44-32 advantage that nearly helped them overcome a dreadful start of the game.

The Timberwolves missed their first 14 field goal attempts of the second quarter to fall behind 35-21, but used their rebounding dominance to slowly get back in the game.

They closed the second quarter with an 11-4 run, then Michael Olowokandi’s dunk capped an 8-0 run midway through the third that gave the Wolves a 56-55 lead, their first since 2-0.

Szczerbiak scored nine straight points for Minnesota in the fourth, the last coming on a 3-pointer that gave the Timberwolves a 79-73 lead with less than 7 minutes to play.

That’s when Abdur-Rahim took over, going 6-for-6 from the foul line and hitting the big 3 down the stretch.

Bibby added 17 points and six assists and Peja Stojakovic had 14 for the Kings.

Notes: Timberwolves G Troy Hudson missed his fourth straight game with a strained calf. … Szczerbiak said he felt fine after an elbow from Philly’s Sam Dalembert’s elbow gave him a nasty knot during Monday night’s game. … Stojakovic missed a free throw for just the sixth time this season. … After dishing out 10 assists in each of the last two games, Miller had just four on Tuesday night.

AP-ES-12-13-05 2250EST

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