It took a poor second quarter and likely a motivational halftime speech, but the Timberwolves appear to have gotten back on track.
Following yet another gut-wrenching loss and blown fourth-quarter lead Friday night, Minnesota exorcised its second-half demons, taking down the Houston Rockets 111-90 at Target Center on Sunday. The Wolves led by only four points at the break but dominated the Rockets in the third and fourth quarters on both ends of the floor.
Anthony Edwards led the way with a monster 22-point third quarter that allowed the Wolves to pull away for good. He racked up 32 points on the night to go with six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. He was aided by double-doubles from Rudy Gobert, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Gobert said it's fun to watch Edwards take over a game.
"I love when he's attacking the rim, putting a lot of pressure, drawing fouls, and then, once he does that, it opens up his three-point shot," the center said. "I thought he did a great job just shooting the threes instead of shooting the twos. When he does that, first of all, I feel like he makes them at a higher clip, and three points is better than two."
With the win, Minnesota improved to 35-15 and remained tied with Oklahoma City atop the Western Conference. The Wolves' fifth win in seven games also clinched All-Star Game coaching honors for Chris Finch and his staff. They will head to Indianapolis following a four-game road trip, where they will be joined by All-Star reserves Edwards and Towns.
"This team is making us be in a special [season]," Finch said after the game. "Not just in terms of what they've done so far in the season, but also who they are as people, the way that they accept coaching, the way that they bounce back when challenged or from a poor defeat. All that kind of stuff, it shows the character.
"They really root hard for their teammates, and they obviously root hard for the coaching staff. It's really a lot of fun."
BOXSCORE: Wolves 111, Houston 90
The Rockets began the game 3-for-3 from deep, but the Wolves quickly sprang back with assistance from Mike Conley. Minnesota's veteran point guard scored five points behind a wing three-pointer and a hook-shot layup, then found Jaden McDaniels and Towns for threes and threw a lob to Gobert to give the Wolves a 13-11 lead.
Minnesota's scoring was evenly distributed in the first quarter, as all eight Wolves who entered the game scored. Each player had between two and five points, and the Wolves led 31-23 after the opening quarter. They were also active on defense, ending the first quarter with three steals and showcasing great post defense from Gobert and Naz Reid.
The Wolves' lead ballooned to 12 points in the second, but a stretch of four turnovers in five possessions enabled the visitors to find their way back into the game. With just more than a minute left in the half, Houston evened the score at 44, but a Gobert jam on a feed from Conley gave Minnesota the lead again. Eight second-quarter turnovers made it an ugly-looking stretch, but the Wolves still took a 48-44 advantage into halftime.
Following a quiet first half in which he shot just 1-of-8 from the field, Edwards caught fire in the third. The 22-year-old started the quarter by tallying 14 points to the Rockets' four. Edwards' tenacity in the paint eventually led to success from deep, as he made four of his five attempts from beyond the arc. By the end of the third, Edwards was up to 28 points — his 22 in the period alone besting the Rockets' 20.
Minnesota held a 16-point advantage into the fourth, and this time didn't let it slip. The Wolves pulled away from the middling Rockets with a 31-26 final quarter.
Conley said the best thing about the win was the team's effort.
"We really did a good job of trying to move the ball with pace. We made an emphasis on moving our bodies more, trying to cut for each other, trying to run faster, crash the boards harder. We know what we're going to do defensively.
"Can we give the same effort offensively and have that energy to do that? Because it requires that every night for a consistent offensive output."
