National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 114, Minnesota 112
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, December 5, 2014
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #62 Dedric Taylor, #33 Sean Corbin, #14 Ed Malloy
Attendance: 12101

Rockets 114, Timberwolves 112 (OT): Nick Johnson's layup with eight-tenths of a second remaining was the difference as visiting Houston outlasted Minnesota for its third straight win.

James Harden led the way with a season-high 38 points while Jason Terry added 19 for the Rockets, who improved to 8-1 on the road. Trevor Ariza added 17 points and nine rebounds while Donatas Motiejunas chipped in 13 points - including the game-tying free throws with 15 seconds left in regulation - for Houston, which went 26-of-31 from the foul line.

Shabazz Muhammad led the way with 20 points off the bench while Thaddeus Young tallied 19 for the Timberwolves, who erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Zach LaVine scored 17 points while Corey Brewer collected 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Minnesota, who finished 19-of-27 from the charity stripe.

Harden scored eight points during a 15-2 surge to put the Rockets on top 70-61 as he and Ariza combined for 20 of Houston's 28 points in the third quarter. Minnesota trailed by 13 with 5:26 remaining when LaVine sparked an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 96-94, and Andrew Wiggins' driving layup gave the Timberwolves their first lead of the fourth quarter at 101-99.

Wiggins brought the house down with a dunk to put Minnesota in front 105-101 before Motiejunas scored four straight points to send the game to overtime after Chase Budinger missed a game-winning jumper in the final seconds. Young knocked down a clutch jumper to even the score at 112 before Johnson's layup barely beat the buzzer to hand the Rockets their sixth win in their last seven games.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rockets have downed the Timberwolves in seven of their last eight meetings. … Harden went 13-of-14 from the foul line and is 38-of-41 in his last four outings. … Minnesota PG Mo Williams was inactive due to back spasms.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Minnesota
James Harden 38 Scoring Shabazz Muhammad 20
James Harden 6 Assists Corey Brewer 6
Trevor Ariza 9 Rebounds Corey Brewer 7
James Harden 13 Free Throws Made Corey Brewer 4
Trevor Ariza 1 Steals Gorgui Dieng 3
Joey Dorsey 2 Blocks Corey Brewer 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 114 48.7 12-32 26-31 19 42 3 3 23
Minnesota 112 46.4 3-10 19-27 23 43 5 12 14
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .308 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Rockets have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .750 after a loss.