It wasn’t quite the overall opening-game performance we were all expecting from our home team, but James Harden put in an MVP performance to ensure that a cold-shooting night by the Houston Rockets wouldn’t come back to bite them, as they squeezed past the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-101.
The Rockets were supposed to run away with this series, especially in game one at home, but they shot just 10-37 from beyond the arc on the evening, allowing Minnesota to stay in the game after an initial hot start by the Rockets. The teams battled back and forth all night long with multiple lead changes throughout.