Timberwolves, Rockets secure confidence building victories – NBA Roundup
Minnesota Timberwolves Vs Indiana Pacers
The Minnesota Timberwolves started a highly anticipated season on a good note by defeating the Indiana Pacers in their first preseason game here on Wednesday night. The new look Wolves controlled the game for much of the duration
and cruised to a comfortable 84-70 victory in the end. The most important success for the Wolves was their new players all got to play some good minutes and added to the victory for the team. Nikola Pekovic scored 14 points and 5 rebounds for the Wolves, while
Chase Budinger came off the bench to score 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Brandon Roy, playing his first game since coming out of retirement, added 13 points for the team which gave him confidence moving forward. Paul George was the leading scorer for the Pacers
with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
The first quarter was evenly balanced, with both teams exchanging leads and none managing to take control by pulling away. Minnesota led 22-19 at the end of the period, and started the second period well to extend their lead to
38-24. This was followed by a patch in which both teams struggled on offence, but the Wolves still held a 46-36 lead at halftime. Indiana played a poor third quarter in which they managed to score only 15 points as none of their players except George was able
to find any rhythm. Taking advantage of the Pacers drought, the Wolves outscored them 23-15 and further extended their lead to 69-51 heading into the final period. The Pacers tried to comeback in the final 12 minutes of action, but the Wolves played with poise
to hold on to their lead and ended up winning comfortably.
The Wolves had 13 steals for the game compared to 7 for Indiana, and also turned the ball over 18 times compared to 24 for the Pacers. Both teams had an average shooting night.
Houston Rockets Vs Oklahoma City Thunder
The Houston Rockets played against a depleted Oklahoma City Thunder roster on Wednesday night’s preseason fixture, and won a thrilling contest 107-105. The Thunder did not play Thabo Sefolosha, Kendrick Perkins, or Serge Ibaka
and both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook played less than 20 minutes each, as the Rockets took the victory in the end. Terrence Jones scored a game high 20 points for Houston, and Jeremy Lamb finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Chandler Parsons and
Patrick Patterson started the game in the front court, and both finished with 10 points each. Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin both played their first game since joining the Rockets in the offseason, and Asik finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds while Lin scored
only 3 points and assisted 6 field goals.
The Thunder were one up at the end of a high scoring first period, leading 31-30, and still had a one point lead at the end of the second period of this tightly contested game. Houston gained the advantage during the third period
when they outscored the Thunder 29-23, and managed to stay clear of the chasing Thunder in the final minutes of the game to pick up a confidence building victory. Kevin Durant scored 13 points, going 5 of 10 from the field, where as Russell Westbrook finished
with 19 points and 3 assists. James Harden was 3 of 11 from the field for his 9 points, where as Hasheem Thabeet added 10 points and 3 rebounds in the loss.
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