Shooting doesn’t stop
22 3-pointers help hold off Timberwolves 142-130.
The Rockets had led for all but 80 seconds, scored with ease and never thought the Timberwolves, no matter what wonders Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins performed, could catch them. But that might have made things more difficult.
The Rockets followed Mike D’Antoni’s 50 3s a night directive and scored more than they have in any game this season Saturday night. But they had to because the more they scored, the less they seemed to put into stopping the Timberwolves.
With one last shower of 3-pointers, the Rockets pulled away for good 142130 to not only give them 42 wins to surpass last season’s total, but do it in the most appropriate way.
While racking up the second-most points they have scored since the 199596 season, the Rockets put in 22 3-pointers, the third most in franchise history, and took 58 3s, the second most in franchise and NBA history.
After making 20 3s in a game twice in franchise history before spending the season launching in D’Antoni’s fire-when-ready offense, the Rockets have done it in each of the past two games to give them an NBA-record eight games with at least 20 3-pointers.
“We scored the ball at a high clip tonight,” said guard James Harden, who had 21 of his 24 points in the second half. “That’s going to be most nights. We just let up defensively. We gave them some confidence, they made shots, gave up some offensive rebounds. We still have to figure our lineups, our rotations a little bit.”
It might say something about how prolific the offense has become that they poured in so many points but were in some ways disappointed.
They had eight players in double figures, with every starter scoring at least 15 and Lou Williams scoring 10 of his 17 points off the bench in just 7½ fourth-quarter minutes. Yet, as smoothly as he has adjusted, Williams has been around long enough to not be satisfied with the high-scoring win.
“Offensively, we have a lot of firepower,” Williams said. “Wewere able to outscore them. I thought we were lax, but we were able to get a win.”
The victory gave the Rockets the second-best record through 60 games in franchise history, but it did not come easily, and that bothered D’Antoni more than he could be pleased with scoring 142 points with relative ease.
The Wolves had the most points scored against the Rockets this season, scoring 68 in the paint and dominating the boards to score 29 second-chance points.
“I think most people could feel it,” D’Antoni said of the sense the Rockets could score their way out of trouble, “but we can’t do that. That’s a mistake. That’s a big mistake. We talked about it. I didn’t think we played very good. We got 142 points up. You know we’ll score. But … they killed us on the boards. Just a lack of that little extra pep, especially in that first group.”
Yet, the Rockets could always score their way out of trouble, with a barrage of 3s. When the Rockets missed eight consecutive 3s in the fourth quarter, the Wolves reduced a 20-point lead to eight with 3:44 left.
The Rockets put in a few free throws, but the 3-pointers started to fall again. Harden sank a 3-pointer and Pat Beverley put in another, giving the Rockets a 13-point lead with two minutes left. When the Wolves were back within eight, Trevor Ariza sank two 3-pointers until the Rockets had more scoring than the Wolves had time to chase. With that, the Rockets had done enough to get their win their way, even if there was much they’d like to change.
“Obviously, we don’t want to play every game where we have to score 142 points to win, but a win is a win,” Ryan Anderson said. “Weknew tonight was going to be a high-scoring game, but not like All-Star Game status.”