MINNEAPOLIS – As much as the Rockets could stay in the game whenever James Harden caught a wave and rode it to a burst of 3s, there was the small matter of the other end of the floor. Some things, as the Rockets reached the All-Star break, had not changed.
The Timberwolves poured in points from the start. With the game on the line, however, the Rockets were more helpless to stop them than ever. The Timberwolves made 11 of 14 shots in the final eight minutes, holding off Harden's late charge and finishing off a 121-111 win.