NBA Basketball Box Scores

National Basketball Association

BOXSCORE | RECAP

Houston 123, Minnesota 118

When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #3 Nick Buchert, #14 Ed Malloy, #63 Derek Richardson
Attendance: 18055

By The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON -- As far as postseason tune-ups are concerned, the Houston Rockets opted not to nitpick at every blemish of their performance on Wednesday night, choosing instead to focus on readying for what should be a riveting showdown.

James Harden recorded his 22nd triple-double and the Rockets parlayed a 3-point barrage early in the third quarter into a 123-118 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the season finale for both at Toyota Center.

Harden posted 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to pace a balanced scoring attack for the Rockets (55-27), whose win total matched the fourth-most in team history. Clint Capela (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Patrick Beverley (10 points, 10 boards) produced a double-double while Ryan Anderson chipped in 20 points.

Last season, Houston slinked into the postseason as the No. 8 seed and was summarily dismissed by the Golden State Warriors. This time around, the Rockets are the third seed and will host the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-35) in Game 1 on Sunday, facing great expectations brought on by their exceptional season.

"I'm excited that this is the first time since I've been here that guys are on the same page," Harden said. "We have a coaching staff that has a system and everybody knows that system offensively and defensively. The personnel as well. We have more than enough in this locker room to compete with anybody in the league."

Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 21 rebounds for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points and Shabazz Muhammad added 22 off the bench. The Timberwolves (31-51) closed the season with six consecutive losses.

"We don't get fooled into thinking that it's something that it's not. It tells us exactly how hard we're going to have to work to get where we want to go," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I liked that it was against really good teams, and I think that will be helpful for us to determine what our needs are and for our players to have a good understanding of what it takes to win and to be successful."

Deadlocked at the intermission, the Rockets drilled four consecutive 3-pointers to open the third quarter, seizing a 72-67 lead. Houston hit 19 of 56 on 3-pointers and finished 30-1 when scoring 120 points or more this season.

"It was good to now get it over with," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Let's get on to what's important."

One worrisome trend for the Rockets entering the postseason is their tendency to blow double-digit leads. Houston hit 5 of 7 3s on Wednesday, darting to a 20-7 advantage, only to surrender that momentum with another cold spell from behind the arc.

While the Rockets missed 8 of 9 3-pointers down the stretch of the opening period, Minnesota surged ahead with a 19-5 run sparked by Towns and Wiggins.

Minnesota pushed its lead to 49-40 on a dazzling three-point play by Towns with 7:20 remaining in the half, an effort that included Towns pump-faking a corner 3-pointer before converting a reverse layup through contact. That was the culmination of an 11-3 run by the Timberwolves.

But Harden helped pull Houston even by the break, and Minnesota failed to reclaim the spark that fostered hope.

"I'm sure our guys are ready to change it," Wiggins said of a franchise postseason drought that reached 13 years. "It sucks. I'd rather be on a team going forward, but we'll have to watch from afar and it's up to us to change it next year."

NOTES: With his fifth and final assist of the first quarter, Rockets G James Harden became the first player in NBA history to record 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 900 assists in a season. ... Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns became the first player in NBA history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 3-pointers in a season. Towns eclipsed the rebounds and 3-pointers thresholds on Wednesday. ... Rockets F Ryan Anderson finished 6 of 15 on 3-pointers, bumped his season total to 204, and joined teammates James Harden (262) and Eric Gordon (246) with at least 200 3-pointers. Rockets F Trevor Ariza went 2 for 8 from behind the arc and closed the season with 191 3-pointers.

Top Game Performances

Minnesota		Houston
Karl-Anthony Towns 28	Scoring	James Harden 27
Kris Dunn 16	Assists	James Harden 12
Karl-Anthony Towns 21	Rebounds	Patrick Beverley 10
Andrew Wiggins 5	Free Throws Made	James Harden 6
Tyus Jones 2	Steals	James Harden 4
Kris Dunn 2	Blocks	Clint Capela 3

Team Stats Summary

Team	Points	FG%	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	Assists	Rebounds	Blocks	Steals	Turnovers
Minnesota	118	52.7	11-23	11-15	37	49	3	7	15
Houston	123	46.4	19-56	14-22	37	47	7	11	10

Upcoming Games

Houston will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Rockets have a W/L % of .611 after a win and .786 after a loss.