Anthony Edwards drills winner as Timberwolves fight back to beat Rockets for sweep of their Texas two-step

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 27, 2024

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HOUSTON – The Timberwolves got off to a rough start in the final leg of this three-game road trip when their flight was delayed several hours by thunderstorms heading out of Dallas on Thursday.

But their trip ended on a much brighter note in a 113-112 comeback win over the Rockets.

The Wolves trailed by 16 in the fourth quarter before mounting a comeback late. They went on a 10-0 run and took advantage of missed free throw by Alperen Sengun before Anthony Edwards hit a 3-pointer with 23.2 seconds to play to put the Wolves ahead 113-112. Fred VanVleet missed a 3 that would’ve given the Rockets the win. It was the Wolves’ largest fourth-quarter comeback since 2003. Edwards finished with 24 points.

Houston took control in the second half after the Wolves led 57-52 at halftime. Houston has risen to the second seed in the Western Conference on the back of tough defense and offensive rebounding, and it displayed both Friday.

The Rockets had 21 second-chance points while the Wolves had 16 turnovers.

The Wolves had no answer for Houston center Sengun, though the Wolves would contend Sengun got away with more than a few offensive fouls. He finished with 38 points.

Julius Randle again flirted with a triple-double with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Donte DiVincenzo had 22 off the bench.

How it happened

The Wolves and Rockets set a defensive tone from the first quarter, which the Wolves led 22-21. The Wolves didn’t have much scoring outside of Edwards, who had 13 points in the period. He was 3 for 3 from 3-point range to open the game.

The Rockets scored by crashing the glass for six offensive rebounds, and they also generated 10 points off six Minnesota turnovers.

The Wolves got on track offensively in the second quarter thanks to their second unit that featured DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Minott and Randle. DiVincenzo had 16 points in the first half and the Wolves led by as many as 10. The Rockets got 20 points and nine rebounds from Sengun in the opening half to hang around.

The Wolves' starting unit lost that lead in the opening minutes of the third as the Rockets outscored the Wolves 32-19. VanVleet had nine in the third while Edwards went cold (0 for 4).

NAW gives it a go

Alexander-Walker was questionable because of an illness after he was added to the injury report Friday morning. But Alexander-Walker was able to play despite it. He finished with 11 points in 29 minutes.

Happy retirement

Friday marked the final game for longtime Houston Chronicle Rockets beat writer Jonathan Feigen, who covered the team for 27 years. Feigen, one of the most respected beat writers in the league, is retiring to spend more time traveling with his wife and to spend more time with his grandchildren. Wolves coach Chris Finch was an assistant in Houston and took time during his pregame news conference to congratulate Feigen.

“It was a pleasure to get to know you when I was here,” Finch said. “In an industry that’s always changed, you’ve always been the same.”