SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tyreke Evans had a first half he'd like to forget, but if you don't remember how it went that would be understandable.

By his own admission, Evans didn't do much in the first two quarters of Thursday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"The first half I was kind of going through the motions," Evans said. "Wasn't being aggressive, wasn't in a groove at all."

Evans was the opposite in the second half, scoring 19 of his 21 points as the Kings rallied to beat the Timberwolves, 101-98, at Sleep Train Arena.

"It's a long game, 48 minutes," Evans said. "And every chance I get try to stay patient and make the right play. And when I get a chance to attack, attack."It was the third straight home win for the Kings, who are 6-5 over the last three weeks.

Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost two straight and four of five.

Ricky Rubio had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Minnesota, which beat the Kings twice this season.

The Kings survived a miscue at the end when they were leading by three points and Evans turned the ball over on a poor pass after penetrating to the basket. Dante Cunningham missed a three-point attempt on the other end with one second left that would have sent the game into overtime.

DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Sacramento, John Salmons added 13 and Patrick Patterson had 11.

KINGS 101, TIMBERWOLVES 98