Houston Rockets rout Minnesota Timberwolves
The Houston Rockets finally bagged their first win of the season when they clobbered the Minnesota Timberwolves, 120-94, on Sunday 7 November at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Argentinean power-forward Luis Scola led his team’s attack once again with his 24 points and eight rebounds, while Kevin Martin tallied 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field for the
Rockets, who have blown halftime leads in four of their five losses this season.
“It was just good to get a win after all this time and we've been so close,” said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman, whose team dropped their first five games with an average of six points.
“To come out and get one now we can start moving in the other direction.”
Second-year power forward Jordan Hill also had a good game as he finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while Yao Ming, who can’t play more than 24 minutes in a game all-year long as a
precautionary measure, scored 13 points in 17 minutes of playing time.
“We did a much better job of finding Yao,” Adelman said. “Taking it away and then coming to him and reposting him, they had trouble guarding him so we wanted to be sure we went to him.”
The Rockets, who shot 39-for-47 from the foul line, raced to an early lead as Yao and Martin scored at will to give their team a comfortable 60-37 lead at the half. Scola then took over in
the third period, scoring 13 points to extend their lead to 30 points, 97-67, heading into the final 12 minutes.
The 30-point deficit heading into the fourth was simply too much as the Timberwolves dropped the sixth of their first seven games this season, finding themselves at the cellar of the Western
Conference standings.
“We were mentally prepared for the game but we couldn't throw a pea into the ocean,” Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. “Our confidence got sucked out of us and we just couldn't make a shot.
Our defence was compromised and it was a tough loss.”
Kevin Love had a big night as the third-year forward from UCLA scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while his frontline partner Michael Beasley added 15 points, but both of them had
a hard time stopping Yao and the Rockets’ inside game.
“This was a team we probably could have beaten,” Love said. “Houston was ready and set the tone early with Yao inside. Scola and the rest of their team got to the free throw line a lot. When
they shoot the ball so well, it makes it tough for us.”
The Rockets played without starting point guard Aaron Brooks, who is out with a sprained left ankle, while the Timberwolves missed Luke Ridnour after hurting his hamstring in the first half.
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