HOUSTON – The Timberwolves bade farewell to 14 years without a playoff appearance Sunday night in Houston and Rockets superstar James Harden said rude hello to them in a best-of-seven series with a 104-101 victory at Toyota Center.
Frontrunner for league MVP after he led the Rockets to 65 regular-season victories, Harden made seven three-pointers for a Rockets team that shoots them by the gross and he scored 44 points, 25 of them after halftime.
It was enough to hold off a Wolves team that turned a late nine-point deficit into just three points in the final 10 seconds, but couldn’t tie the game when four-time All Star Jimmy Butler’s desperate three-pointer was short in the final second.