Timberwolves restrict Rockets
Los Angeles, Jan. 12: Andrew Wiggins scored a team high 28 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped the Houston Rockets nine-game winning streak Wednesday with a 119-105 NBA victory at the Target Center arena.
Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 23 points and 18 rebounds to post his ninth consecutive double-double in the Timberwolves’ second straight win.
The Timberwolves were without third-leading scorer Zach LaVine.
James Harden had 33 points, six rebounds and 12 assists for Houston, which had its leaguebest winning streak halted.
Ryan Anderson added 18 points, but the Rockets shot 41 percent from the floor and 15 of 42 on three-pointers.
Westbrook’s 18th triple-double
Elsewhere, Russell Westbrook earned his 18th triple-double to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-95 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. The 18 tripledoubles is the most by any player since Magic Johnson during the 198182 season.
Enes Kanter finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Victor Oladipo added 16 points as the Thunder improved to 2416.
Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 22 points and six assists while Chandler Parsons and Zach Randolph each scored 14 points.
Trail Blazers crush Cavs
In Portland, Oregon, CJ McCollum scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, and Allen Crabbe scored 24 points off the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-86 at Moda Center.
McCollum hit the 25point barrier for the seventh consecutive game, and Crabbe was nine of 11 from the field as the Trail Blazers won a second straight game for the first time since early December.
LeBron James collected 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Love had 17 points and eight boards for the Cavaliers, who lost for the second straight time and are 2-2 on their six-game road trip.
In Los Angeles, J.J. Redick scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Clippers won their fifth in a row with a 105-96 victory over the Orlando Magic.