The Rockets lost, the Warriors won.
The Houston Rockets lost their second straight contest on Tuesday night, slipping to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 113-106 defeat. With the Golden State Warriors defeating the Dallas Mavericks last night also, the loss puts Houston three games off the pace for the NBA Play-In Tournament with seven games remaining, meaning things are getting really tight.
The Rockets were up by 11 points early, but a 21-4 run to close the first half put Minnesota in front, and it was a lead the Timberwolves would not give up the rest of the way, as backup center Naz Reid helped the charge (because of course he did) with 25 points and 6 boards for Minny.
The Rockets were led by Jalen Green, who finished with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists on 10-for-22 shooting from the field, but he was just 2-for-11 from three and also had 5 turnovers. In addition, Fred VanVleet finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Jabari Smith Jr. pitched in 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Cam Whitmore had 14 off of the bench to round out the double-digit scorers for Houston.
For Minny, in addition to Reid, they also got 21 points from Anthony Edwards and a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double from Rudy Gobert.
The Rockets shot just 44.6 percent from the floor overall and were only 14-for-48 from three, while giving up 53.2 percent shooting to Minnesota. The Wolves were also 11-for-26 from beyond the arc, and when you look at those percentages, the Rockets did well to only lose by 7 points.
Houston now has their work cut out for them in the last seven games, though Thursday’s contest with the Golden State Warriors, who are right in front of the Rockets in the standings, will be a big one.
Houston falls to 38-37 on the season, and though the odds are long for the postseason, the year looks successful with the team still in it to the end without their best player Alperen Sengun.