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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves were missing five of their top seven players for most of their record-setting overtime rally to beat the Houston Rockets.
They chose focus over frustration.
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With a game-closing 15-0 run, the Timberwolves came back from 13 points down for a 110-108 victory over the Rockets. No other NBA team has overcome an overtime deficit that big since the league began logging play-by-play details with the 1997-98 season.
“They fought through a ton of adversity. We should’ve won that game in regulation. We deserved to win that game. We were the better team all night, and we gave them a chance to steal it from us, but we stole it right back,” coach Chris Finch said.
After frittering away an 11-point lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in regulation and fighting an imbalance in the foul calls all night, the Timberwolves found themselves trailing by 13 points with less than two minutes elapsed in the extra period on Wednesday.
Superstar Anthony Edwards was sidelined for a fifth straight game with knee trouble. Key backup Ayo Dosunmu was out, too, with a sore calf. Jaden McDaniels, who had 25 points and valiant defense on Rockets star Kevin Durant all night, started hobbling down the stretch of the fourth quarter and had to be pulled. Rudy Gobert, who had a steely 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, fouled out.
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Then early in overtime, Naz Reid was ejected after voicing his displeasure with official Scott Foster for an offensive foul call. The fans at Target Center were steadily filing out.
But after Alperen Sengun’s dunk put the Rockets up 108-95, capping a stunning 26-2 run, the Timberwolves refused to punt on this pivotal game for Western Conference playoff positioning.
“You just got to take it a possession at a time. Biggest thing is be in the moment,” said Julius Randle, who shared the duty of defending Durant with Kyle Anderson after McDaniels departed.
Mike Conley, who got a rare start with Edwards and Dosunmu unavailable, swished a 3-pointer with 2:45 left. Anderson tipped in Randle’s missed layup, drew a foul on Sengun and converted a three-point…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/timberwolves-post-nbas-largest-overtime-064231324.html
Author : DAVE CAMPBELL
Publish date : 2026-03-26 06:42:00
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