National Basketball Association
Minnesota 121, Houston 111
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
#18 Matt Boland, #14 Ed Malloy, #61 Courtney Kirkland
Attendance:
15131
By Field Level Media
Jeff Teague produced a double-double while Karl-Anthony Towns led a dominant performance in the paint by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who used a balanced scoring attack to thwart James Harden and the Houston Rockets 121-111 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Rookie guard Josh Okogie provided a spark with 16 points and played energetic defense on Harden, who still extended his streak of 30-point games to 31 with 42 points, matching Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Harden has recorded 22 40-point games this season.
Teague paced seven Timberwolves in double figures with 27 points and added a game-high 12 assists while Towns paired 25 points with a team-best nine rebounds. Dario Saric, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson recorded eight rebounds each as Minnesota posted a plus-10 rebounding advantage while also outscoring Houston 70-36 in the paint. The Timberwolves shot 54.4 percent from the field.
Chris Paul added 16 points and eight assists for Houston while Kenneth Faried chipped in a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Rockets led 65-56 on two Faried free throws at the 10:18 mark of the third quarter before the Timberwolves mounted the first of their two significant runs in the period. Minnesota pulled even with a 9-0 surge and later added a 12-0 burst to seize the lead.
Okogie was crucial during the latter run, producing a steal and block, both against Harden, while also converting a transition dunk and a 3-pointer that pushed Minnesota to a 77-74 lead.
The series of alternating runs began in the first quarter when, after Saric scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting for Minnesota, the Rockets closed the frame on an 11-2 rally to carry a one-point lead into the second. Houston surged without Harden, who shot 1 of 4 in the period, and instead relied on 15 bench points, with eight coming from reserve swingman Gerald Green.
Harden found his rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 10 points during a 16-6 Rockets run that turned a three-point deficit into a 51-44 lead. Harden totaled 20 points by the break and Houston led 58-52 at the intermission despite surrendering 34 points in the paint and playing to a minus-10 deficit on the boards. The Timberwolves shot 51.2 percent in the first half despite missing 5 of 6 3-pointers. That dominance on the interior and the glass paid dividends after the break.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Houston |
|
Minnesota |
|
James Harden 42 |
Scoring |
Jeff Teague 27 |
|
Chris Paul 8 |
Assists |
Jeff Teague 12 |
|
Kenneth Faried 11 |
Rebounds |
Karl-Anthony Towns 9 |
|
Chris Paul 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Luol Deng 4 |
|
PJ Tucker 2 |
Steals |
Josh Okogie 2 |
|
Eric Gordon 1 |
Blocks |
Karl-Anthony Towns 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Houston
|
111 |
40.8 |
19-53 |
12-13 |
23 |
37 |
2 |
5 |
11 |
| Minnesota
|
121 |
54.4 |
10-20 |
13-17 |
31 |
47 |
5 |
4 |
10 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against New York. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .452 after a loss.
-
Houston will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Rockets have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .565 after a loss.
For more information, contact us