HOUSTON _ Over the last few games, Malik Beasley has been on while D'Angelo Russell has been off for the Timberwolves.
On Tuesday, those roles reversed, with Russell getting back on track and Beasley having his worst game in a Wolves uniform.
Only having one member of your backcourt wasn't going to cut it against Houston, not on a night when Russell Westbrook and James Harden played at an All-Star level.
Despite trailing for most of three quarters, the Rockets pulled ahead in the fourth for a 117-111 victory over Minnesota and swept the four-game season series with the Wolves.
Russell had 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting and snapped his two-game slump while Beasley had just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Harden and Westbrook filled the stat sheets and played their best basketball over the final 15 minutes to snap Houston's four-game losing streak while sending the Wolves to their third straight loss. Harden finished with 37 points and seven assists while Westbrook had 27 points and seven assists.
The Rockets are attempting a mini-revolution in the NBA by trying to win a title without having a true center in their main lineup. Instead, they've had former Wolves forward Robert Covington (10 points) playing a de facto five spot for them. So it wasn't a huge deal when the Wolves lost their starting center, Naz Reid, to foul trouble early after Reid picked up fouls on two consecutive possessions.
That just meant the Wolves were coming down to the Rockets' size. It wasn't all that bad a development for them early considering some of the contributions they got early. Juancho Hernangomez had eight of their first 11 points, Russell hit a 3-pointer for the first time in three games, then hit another one, while James Johnson filled in capably for Reid as a small-ball center.
It added up to a successful first quarter, as the Wolves shot 52% on their way to a 35-26 lead. It helped that Minnesota forced Houston into six turnovers and capitalized on those for 14 points.
The Rockets cut into the Wolves' lead initially in the second quarter with a Harden layup cutting it to 40-37 with 6:59 to play.
The Wolves were able to keep Houston from overtaking them in the second. Each time the Rockets made a run the Wolves had an answer. Reid and Jordan McLaughlin scored to put the Wolves back up seven after Harden cut it to three. Just before halftime, Russell hit a 3 and added a pair of free throws just before the buzzer. The Wolves were able to take advantage of the Rockets on the glass, compiling 26 rebounds to their 18. But for as well as the Wolves played in the first half, the Rockets were right on their heels and trailed just 56-52 at halftime. Reid was able to come back in and avoid foul trouble while Russell led the Wolves with 15 at the half. Johnson had 13 while Harden had 19 for the Rockets on 6-of-11 shooting. The Rockets kept their turnovers down to just two in the second quarter.
Thanks to Russell's sharpshooting, the Wolves stayed ahead of Houston through most of the third quarter. Russell canned a few Harden-esque step-back shots from the outside. Those helped the Wolves push their lead to 10, their largest of the night up until that point. Things were going swimmingly for the Wolves in the third quarter right up until about the two-minute mark.
They had an 80-73 lead before Westbrook started to do his thing. The charge started with a Westbrook layup. Then a jumper. Then a three-point play before Westbrook found Austin Rivers for a 3 at the buzzer of the quarter. The Rockets finally grabbed the lead 83-80 headed into the fourth quarter.
Then they got back in gear.
Westbrook helped hold down the fort until Harden got back in at the 9:00 mark. Then the Rockets got their largest lead of the night, 102-89.
The Wolves weren't done, as they cut into the Rockets' lead at 102-96, but an Eric Gordon 3 put Houston back in control.
