Schedule and 2004 Results
Regular Season Records: Minnesota 58-24, Sacramento 55-27
Game 1 on Tuesday, 04 May: Sacramento wins at Minnesota, 104-pts-98
Game 2 on Saturday, 08 May: Sacramento loses at Minnesota, 94-pts-89
Game 3 on Monday, 10 May: Minnesota wins at Sacramento, 114-pts-113 (OT)
Game 4 on Wednesday, 12 May: Minnesota loses at Sacramento, 87-pts-81
Game 5 on Friday, 14 May: Sacramento loses at Minnesota, 86-pts-74
Game 6 on Sunday, 16 May: Minnesota loses at Sacramento, 104-pts-87
Game 7 on Wednesday, 19 May: Sacramento loses at Minnesota, 83-pts-80

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 7: The Minnesota Timberwolves hosted and defeated the Sacramento Kings 83-pts-80 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931 Game 7, thereby securing a 4-games-3 series 931 win and advancing to the 2004 NBA Semifinals to face the Los Angeles Lakers in series 934. The series 931 victory improves the Minnesota Timberwolves' best-of-7 NBA playoff series records to 2-1 (overall) and 1-0 (Quarterfinals); those of the Sacramento Kings fall to 3-4 (overall) and 1-3 (Quarterfinals). The win order for the victorious series 931 team was LWWLWLW: Series 931 thus becomes the seventh NBA series (Quarterfinals or all rounds) and the 19th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to show this win order.

After Game 6: Best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931 Game 6 was also the 1800th best-of-7 NBA playoff game, and the Sacramento Kings won it on their home court 104-pts-87 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Series 931 is thus tied 3-games-all. Game 7 of series 931 will be the first Game 7 for the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Sacramento Kings have an NBA playoff Game 7 record of 0-2 and a road Game 7 record of 0-1. With a win order of LWWLWL and a site order of HHVVHV, the Minnesota Timberwolves in series 931 have the exact same win/site order as the Sacramento Kings did in series 868 (a 2002 NBA Semifinals series vs. the Los Angeles Lakers): Sacramento lost Game 7 at home to the Lakers to lose series 868. Thus, it happens that the 2004 Sacramento Kings hope to force the 2004 Minnesota Timberwolves to emulate perfectly the 2002 Sacramento Kings.

After Game 5: The Minnesota Timberwolves hosted and defeated the Sacramento Kings 86-pts-74 in best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931 Game 5, thereby taking a 3-games-2 series 931 lead. Minnesota thus leads an NBA best-of-7 playoff series 3-games-2 for the first time. When trailing an NBA best-of-7 playoff series 3-games-2, the Sacramento Kings have a 0-1 series record and a 1-0 Game 6 record (from series 899 vs. the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 NBA Quarterfinals).

After Game 4: The Sacramento Kings hosted and defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 87-pts-81 in Game 4 of best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931, thus tying series 931 at 2-games-all. When tied 2-games-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a series record of 0-1 and a Game 5 record of 0-1 (courtesy of series 895 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2003 NBA Preliminary round), while the Sacramento Kings have a series record of 0-2 and a Game 5 record of 1-1. With the Sacramento victory in series 931 Game 4, the 2004 NBA Quarterfinals become the first to feature all four series tied 2-games-all after four games each since the best-of-7 format was adopted for the NBA Quarterfinals round in 1968.

After Game 3: Best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931 Game 3 required one overtime period, but the Minnesota Timberwolves visited and defeated the Sacramento Kings 114-pts-113 to take a 2-games-1 series 931 lead. When leading an NBA best-of-7 playoff series 2-games-1, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a 1-1 series record (all rounds) and a 1-1 Game 4 record. When trailing an NBA best-of-7 playoff series 2-games-1, the Sacramento Kings have a 0-1 series record (all rounds) and a 1-0 Game 4 record (from series 899, in the 2003 NBA Quarterfinals round vs. the Dallas Mavericks).

After Game 2: Evening best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931 at 1-game-all, the Minnesota Timberwolves hosted and defeated the Sacramento Kings 94-pts-89 in series 931 Game 2. The Sacramento Kings have thus won series 931 Game 1 by 6 points and lost series 931 Game 2 by 5 points. In best-of-7 NBA playoff history, once before did a team win Game 1 by six and lose Game 2 by five: In series 134 (in the 1960 NBA Semifinals round), the Boston Celtics did so against the Philadelphia Warriors. Boston won series 134 in six games. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Sacramento Kings have a 1-2 series record and a 2-1 Game 2 record, while the Minnesota Timberwolves have a 0-1 series record and a 1-0 Game 3 record.

After Game 1: The Sacramento Kings visited and defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-pts-98 to win Game 1 of best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 931. The Kings thus become the first team to win Game 1 of a 2004 NBA Quarterfinals series on the road. When winning Game 1 of a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Sacramento Kings have a 3-1 series record and a 2-2 Game 2 record. When losing Game 1 of a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a 0-1 series record and a 1-0 Game 2 record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2003-04 regular season, Minnesota finished three games ahead of Sacramento. From 1947 through the 2004 NBA Preliminary round, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by three regular-season games, they have posted a 9-10 (.474) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 series 931 is the seventh best-of-7 playoff series for Sacramento, and the third for Minnesota. In best-of-7 playoff series, Sacramento has a 3-3 series record, a 1-2 Quarterfinals-round series record, and a 4-2 Game 1 record, while Minnesota has a 1-1 series record, no Quarterfinals-round record, and a 1-1 Game 1 record. Series 931 is the first best-of-7 NBA playoff series between Sacramento and Minnesota.