MINNEAPOLIS _ Both teams were tired, playing on the back end of back-to-backs. But Houston, likely, more so, because they had to travel to the Twin Cities after Friday's gams to play the Timberwolves on Saturday.
Both teams were missing players, But Houston, definitely, more so. The Wolves were without Andrew Wiggins for a second straight game, Josh Okogie (who was a late scratch with knee soreness) and Shabazz Napier. But Houston was without three starters and four of the top six in their rotation.
But the Rockets had James Harden.
Harden finished with 49 points in Houston's 125-105 victory over the Wolves, a game that was tight until halftime, one-sided afterward. And while he wasn't terribly efficient _ Harden made 16 of 41 shots overall and eight of 22 three-pointers _ he was the biggest reason the first sellout of the season for the Wolves (18,978) _ was treated to the team's second straight one-sided loss.
Once again the Wolves defense faltered.
Chris Clemons, a rookie who has appeared in only about half of Houston's games, scored a career-high 19. Ben McLemore (20) and Austin Rivers (19) and were also in double figures for the Rockets (10-3).
That overshadowed a 27-point, 15-rebound effort by Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns, and a 21-point performance by Jake Layman in his first start for the Wolves (7-6). Robert Covington had 17.
In a hotly-contested first half, the Wolves held a 62-56 lead with 1:32 left in the first half. From that point until Towns hit two free throws with 7:50 left in the game _ a span of 15:42 _ the Rockets outscored the Wolves 46-23 to take a 102-85 lead.
A back-and-forth first quarter ended up being the Hardin show.
Down 7-4 early, the Wolves went on a 17-3 run to take a 21-10 lead on Layman's dunk.
The rest of the quarter basically was Harden's. He took 17 shots in 12 minutes, making seven of them, including three three-pointers. Down 11, the Rockets finished the quarter on a 21-9 run to take a one-point lead into the second.
And it was mostly Harden, who had 11 of those 21 points. That included a four-point play on a made three-pointer, and another trey at the end of the quarter to put the Rockets up.
With Harden on the bench to start the second, Culver and Layman scored all the points in a 9-0 run that put the Wolves up 39-31.
But even without Harden, the Rockets roared back. With Clemons hitting two three pointers Houston came back with an 11-3 run to tie the game at 42 on McLemore's second-chance three-pointer just five minutes into the quarter.
The game went back and forth until Culver scored five and Towns had six in an 11-7 spurt that put the Wolves up 62-56 on Towns' follow-dunk with 1:32 left in the half.
But three Rockets _ including Harden _ scored in a 6-0 run that put Houston up 64-62 at halftime.
A 12-4 run to start the third quarter _ capped by Graham's three-pointer _ put the Wolves up 74-68, but it didn't last.
Harden had eight points and two assists in a 19-4 Houston run that put them up 87-78 when Harden fed McLemore for a three with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter. The Wolves _ who missed 11 straight shots at one point during the quarter _ were down 93-85 entering the fourth.
