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On Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets squared off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the prime-time slate, in a game that had a playoff feel to it. Certainly a playoff intensity.
The game held major stakes, as it pertains to the Western Conference standings, as the two teams were separated by just a half game. Kevin Durant struggled at the onset, going 1-for-6 in the opening quarter, as the Wolves made it a point to neutralize him, by either employing double teams or having Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels rotate as Durant’s primary defender.
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And although Julius Randle gashed the Rockets for 39 points in the last matchup between the two teams, he went 0-for-4 in the opening quarter. Houston struggled to execute on relatively higher percentage looks, going 9-of-23 in the paint in the first half. The Rockets also had seven straight 3-point misses in the opening half (which shouldn’t be a surprise, considering their struggles from the outside of late).
Defense was the story of the game. Alperen Sengun was a force on that end, amassing four blocks in total. But not just the blocks, Sengun was drawing charges, diving for loose balls to get key stops and even had the key stop of the game, getting a block on Randle that saw him bloody his lip at the end of regulation to extend the game to overtime.
The overtime period was a quarter of runs, by both teams. The Rockets went on an 8-0 run, looking like they were going to walk out victorious. However, the Wolves went on a 15-0 run to close the period, becoming the first team since the Phoenix Suns in 2021 to go on such a run in overtime.
The Rockets lost 110-108 and seem entrenched in the sixth seed in the West, as they are now 1.5 games back from the Wolves for the fifth spot and 3.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who are in the seventh spot. Durant finished with 30 points, albeit on an inefficient 22 shots and had a key missed free throw in overtime, while Sengun also had 30 points on 22 shots.
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Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard went a combined 10-of-28 from the field and 4-of-16 from deep, in addition to five turnovers. Amen Thompson had…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rockets-lose-timberwolves-heart-breaking-091700149.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-26 09:17:00
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