MINNEAPOLIS — The only postseason implications Friday's game between the Rockets and Timberwolves will have is on the ping-pong balls.
The teams with the two worst records in the Western Conference took the floor for the first in a back-to-back set of games. As it stands now, both teams will have the same odds of getting the top pick, since the league flattened the odds for the three worst teams a few years ago, but there are other teams that could sneak into the mix over the last two months of the season.
The Wolves saved themselves from embarrassment Friday as they mounted a 19-point second-half comeback for a 107-101 win over a Houston team that had just ended a 20-game losing streak earlier this week.
As much as the Wolves might like to keep the top-three pick owed to Golden State this season, they also want to close the season on a positive note and build momentum heading into the offseason for a change. That's one reason President Gersson Rosas didn't make any moves at Thursday's trade deadline — so he could see what kind of team the Wolves have once D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley are back.
Beasley isn't due back from his 12-game suspension until Saturday and Russell is still working his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery, so the Wolves had to play another night without both.
It was looking grim for most of the night until the fourth, when the Wolves finally made a run at Houston by ripping off the final 22 points. The Wolves turned a 101-85 fourth-quarter deficit into an improbable lead with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining. The reason why was simple: Karl-Anthony Towns decided to take over offensively and the Wolves finally played some defense. Houston scored its 101st point with 7 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. The Rockets — somehow — didn't score again. Towns scored 14 of his 29 in the fourth, including a jumper from the left wing that gave the Wolves a 103-101 lead with 1:49 to play. His two free throws put them up 105-101 with 14.4 left. He had help in the comeback from Juancho Hernangomez (19 points) and Jaden McDaniels (14 points).
Early on Towns, who also had 16 rebounds and eight assists, dominated as the Wolves opened a small lead. He had 12 points in the first nine minutes. With his fifth rebound of the night, Towns passed Kevin Love for second on the Wolves' all-time rebounding list. He has another 6,200 or so to reach No. 1, Kevin Garnett.
While Towns had a strong start, Anthony Edwards (12 points on 4 of 17) went in the opposite direction. He opened 2 for 10 in the first half, 1 for 4 from 3-point range. In other games Edwards struggled when he settled for jumpers. On Friday, he was struggling no matter where he shot.
Ben McLemore wasn't struggling for the Rockets, as McLemore hit six 3s in the first half. The Wolves had opened a 37-29 lead early in the second on a Naz Reid layup but that began to vanish as the Rockets took advantage of the Wolves' sloppy transition defense to the tune of 13 fast-break points. Houston went on a 8-0 just before the half that turned a one-point Rockets lead to a 63-54 lead headed into the locker room.
The third quarter didn't change much as Houston led by as much as 19. Towns went 0 for 5 in the third as Houston carried a 91-76 lead into the fourth behind nine points and five assists from Wall in the quarter.
The Wolves couldn't chip into Houston's lead early in the fourth as the Rockets kept it at double digits until the Wolves went on their big run. After a Houston timeout with the Rockets ahead 101-92, Towns took over. He fed McDaniels for a layup, then scored seven of his own. Thanks to Towns, the Wolves had just enough to come back and keep themselves from one of their worst losses of the season.
