HOUSTON _ Pablo Prigioni was the lucky one.
After the Timberwolves assistant coach got ejected for arguing a call at the end of the first half, he wasn't on the bench for the second half, meaning he didn't have to sit through the onslaught that was coming at the hands of the Rockets.
The Wolves have been competitive for most of the games they've played without center Karl-Anthony Towns. That wasn't the case Saturday as Houston mauled the Wolves, 139-109, at the Toyota Center.
The Timberwolves defense has allowed the Wolves to hold their own as Towns' missed game count increased to 13, this time adding an illness on top of his left knee sprain.
But after a close first quarter, Saturday was all Houston as the Wolves began a stretch in which eight of their next nine opponents are in playoff position with their most lopsided loss of the season.
Few things went right for the Wolves over the final three quarters in a game that was the polar opposite of their win Thursday over Portland, their most complete game of the season.
The Wolves just couldn't score most of the night, a night when James Harden committed 11 turnovers. But when he wasn't turning the ball over, he was dissecting the Wolves with 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Russell Westbrook had 30 points and 10 assists as the Rockets overcame the absence of the Clint Capela and the early exit of P.J. Tucker to a right shoulder stinger.
Josh Okogie had 16 to lead the Wolves while Robert Covington finished with 11 points and six steals as he made life tricky for Harden early in the game.
The Wolves shot just 38% and Houston outscored them by double digits in the second and third quarters.
The first quarter featured some ugly basketball f
rom both teams. The Wolves had five turnovers; the Rockets nine. The Wolves were able to get 10 points off those Houston miscues, but neither team was especially efficient shooting when they weren't turning the ball over. Houston shot just 8 of 21 and was just 1 of 7 from 3-point range while the Wolves were just 7 of 25, 2 for 13 from deep.
As a result, neither team led by more than four in the quarter. Houston did have a 13-9 edge following a Westbrook free throw at the 5:23 mark, but the Wolves would score nine of the next 11 points to go up three. In that spurt was one of the Wolves' two 3-pointers in the quarter from Okogie.
Houston, however, got its act together to start the second quarter. The Rockets were still turning the ball over _ Harden had 11 for the half _ but they were hitting some shots while the Wolves offensive lagged behind. A quick 7-0 Rockets burst caused a Ryan Saunders timeout just 2:14 into the quarter. Then Harden got going with Houston ahead 36-27, he scored six straight, reaching 20,000 points for his career in the process. After an Isaiah Hartenstein three-point play extended the run to 9-0, Houston led 45-27 with 6:05 left in the second. The Wolves would chip away at that lead, getting it down to 10 before Harden hit a pair of 3s to close out the half bring Houston's lead back to 16, 57-41. The Wolves wanted a push off on the final 3 and Prigioni was thrown out arguing the call after the buzzer sounded.
The third quarter represented more of the same. The Wolves just couldn't score. They trailed 73-56 with seven minutes left in the third when the Rockets went in for the kill. Harden had nine points in a 13-0 Houston run that all but ended they game by putting the Wolves down 30.
There would be no improbable comeback as there was a few weeks ago against the Clippers. All that was left to do was play out the string one of their most lopsided losses of the season.
