The Minnesota Timberwolves took control with defense, depth, and timely shot-making, beating the Houston Rockets 117-107 in a game that never really let Houston settle in. Minnesota shot 52.9% from the field, piled up 28 assists, and turned the Rockets’ mistakes into 33 points off turnovers.
That balance showed up all night. LaMelo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, and Jonathan Kuminga all gave Minnesota real scoring punch, while Rudy Gobert anchored the middle with a heavy defensive footprint. Houston got strong nights from Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant, but the Rockets couldn’t clean up the turnovers or find enough efficiency to keep pace.
Ball was at the center of a lot of Minnesota’s offensive work. He finished with 20 points, two rebounds, six assists, and three steals, going 6-11 from the field and 4-7 from three-point range.
He also hit four of his five free throws. The seven turnovers stood out, but so did everything else he brought to the floor.
His ability to bend the defense and create for others helped fuel Minnesota’s 28-assist night and kept the offense moving.
Dosunmu and Kuminga gave the Timberwolves another layer. Dosunmu scored 21 points and added six assists, two rebounds, and two steals while shooting 10-20.
He kept attacking the basket and gave Minnesota a steady second scoring option. Kuminga chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four made threes, finishing 5-10 from the field and 4-7 from deep.
Together, they combined for 37 points and helped Minnesota keep pressure on Houston throughout the game.
The defensive numbers tell the rest of the story. Minnesota finished with 12 steals and eight blocks, forced 22 turnovers, and held Houston to 35 made field goals on 82 attempts.
The Rockets shot 42.7% overall and had trouble finding any kind of rhythm. Minnesota also won the fastbreak battle 19-7 and scored 33 points off turnovers, turning live-ball mistakes into easy offense.
Gobert’s impact came through in the paint. He posted eight points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and four blocks, and his presence around the rim helped Minnesota control the interior.
The Timberwolves scored 54 points in the paint, compared with Houston’s 40, and both teams finished with eight blocks. Against a Houston group featuring Sengun, Durant, and Amen Thompson, that kind of rim protection mattered.
Houston had individual production, but not enough clean execution. Sengun put up 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for a triple-double, though he shot 5-15.
Durant scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds, Fred VanVleet added 18 points and three assists, and Tari Eason finished with nine points and six rebounds. The Rockets also made 24 of 30 free throws, but the rest of the offensive profile dragged them down.
They shot 35.1% from three and gave the ball away too often to survive Minnesota’s pressure and pace.
In Other News...
Timberwolves-Rockets Turned Heated Again After Kuminga Sparked A Fracas
The Timberwolves and Rockets found themselves in another tense moment during a game that already had the feel of a matchup with some edge to it. Jonathan Kuminga became the center of the latest flashpoint when he struck Alperen Sengun in the face with his elbow while going up for a rebound, setting off a brief fracas and drawing the attention of everyone on the floor.
Officials reviewed the play and treated it as an excessive hit without making it a clear-cut case of intent, which kept the situation from escalating further. Kuminga stayed in the game and finished with eight points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes, but the sequence added another layer of heat to a meeting that was already trending that way. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Open Roster Spot May Not Change Much At All
The Timberwolves have opened up a roster spot, but it may not alter the rotation or the bigger picture much at all. Minnesota reportedly had planned to bring in Norchad Omier on a two-way contract, only for that agreement to go elsewhere, and the team has since waived Enrique Freeman, who spent last season on a two-way deal and got into four NBA games.
For a franchise that has historically used two-way players sparingly, the move fits a familiar pattern more than it signals a major shift. Minnesota has often kept those spots as developmental depth rather than a path to meaningful minutes, so even with the vacancy, the expectation is that the team will continue treating the back end of the roster as just that. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves May Have Found A Timely Answer While Ant Remains Out
With Anthony Edwards sidelined, the Timberwolves have been looking for cleaner answers around the edges of the rotation, and Trey Lyles has given them one in a role that has grown quickly. He logged 21 minutes off the bench and finished with 12 points, while teammates and coach Chris Finch have pointed to the kind of traits that travel well in a pinch: basketball IQ, offensive rebounding, floor spacing and the ability to hold up defensively across multiple spots.
What has made Lyles especially useful is how naturally he has fit as a backup forward and a small-ball option, giving Minnesota a little more lineup flexibility while Edwards remains out. Through 134 minutes, he has posted a 60.7 true shooting percentage, a sign that the production has not just been useful in theory but efficient in practice, and the Wolves will be watching closely to see whether that steady fit continues to matter as the rotation settles in. [Read more 🡒]