By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The way that DeMarcus Cousins has been
playing lately, the Minnesota Timberwolves were looking like
fools for passing on him in favor of Wes Johnson last year.



The way Nikola Pekovic is emerging as a force in the middle is
definitely softening that blow.



Pekovic had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Beasley added
17 points and 14 boards to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to an
86-84 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in
their first game without the suspended Kevin Love.



Ricky Rubio had 14 assists and five steals and Derrick Williams
scored seven of his 14 points in the final four minutes to give
the Timberwolves their third straight win.



But it was Pekovic on both ends - whirling to the rim for
thunderous dunks on offense and beating up Cousins on defense -
that was the key to the Wolves (13-12) equaling their best start
since 2005-06.



"He's the reason why we won," said rookie Derrick Williams, who
had eight rebounds and three blocks in the start for Love.



Pekovic held Cousins, who had 49 points and 39 rebounds in the
previous two games, to 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting and 11
rebounds. The second-year man from Montenegro drew two fouls on
Cousins in the first four minutes, and the volatile Cousins
seemed flustered for the rest of the game.



"He is a man down there," Kings coach Keith Smart said of
Pekovic. "He plays in the trenches where you have to play with a
physical game and that young man has been playing well for over
a week and a half now."



He had 27 points and 11 rebounds in a win over New Jersey on
Friday and provided huge offensive punch on Tuesday night when
the rest of his team missed 13 of 16 shots in the third quarter.



He made all six of his shots, three of them coming on dunks. One
came on a between-the-legs feed from Rubio and another on a
pretty spin to the baseline past Cousins.



He also lowered his shoulder and ran right over Cousins for a
layup, and picked Jason Thompson at halfcourt and finished the
play with a nifty finger roll to bring the crowd to its feet.



"It's fun to watch him play," coach Rick Adelman said.



Pekovic's play was just enough to hold off Jimmer Fredette and
the Kings, who had won three in a row coming in. Fredette scored
all 13 of his points in the final period. But Tyreke Evans and
Cousins combined to shoot just 8 for 26.



The Kings had a frenetic shot to win their fourth straight game
in the final seconds, but Donte Greene's 3-pointer from the
corner missed at the buzzer.



"It would have been a perfect, happy ending to our comeback for
that to go in," Greene said. "But it didn't fall."



Evans finished with 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while
Thornton scored 21 of his 22 points in the first three quarters.



The Kings trailed 69-60 to start the fourth, and Smart left his
starting backcourt of Thornton and Evans on the bench and put
his trust in Fredette.



It's been a difficult rookie season for the heralded 10th
overall pick out of BYU. He was benched for two straight games
last week and played just 10 minutes in the win over New Orleans
on Monday.



But after clanking his first two attempts of the game Tuesday
night, Fredette found his range.



He buried three 3-pointers, scored off a steal and fed Greene
for a dunk that got Sacramento back in it.



"I was just playing," Fredette said. "I knew I was shooting the
ball well. We were coming back into the game, more importantly."



Greene's 3-pointer tied it at 82 with 1:09 to go, but Williams
came back with a big 3-pointer in the corner to give the Wolves
just enough to win without their All-Star.



Love was suspended Monday for stepping on Rockets forward Luis
Scola last Saturday.



"I think it builds character and it builds a winning attitude,"
Beasley said. "Especially go up over .500, that's real important
for us."



Notes: Love also will sit out Wednesday night's game at Memphis.
... Cousins picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and
his fourth with 2:26 to go in the third. ... The Kings turned it
over 19 times and shot 38 percent. ... Timberwolves C Darko
Milicic missed the game with a sprained right ankle suffered in
practice Monday.