Naz Reid scored 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 113-106 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards added 21 points for Minnesota (52-23), which won for the fifth time in the past six games. Rudy Gobert notched a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Jalen Green scored 26 points to lead Houston (38-37). Fred VanVleet scored 22 points and Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 18 for the Rockets, who have lost back-to-back games after winning the previous 11.
With their 52nd victory, the Timberwolves broke a tie with the 2002-03 club starring Kevin Garnett to become the team with the second-most wins in a single season in franchise history. Garnett’s 2003-04 squad holds the franchise record with 58 wins.
On Tuesday, a 3-pointer by Mike Conley increased Minnesota’s lead to 96-81 with 7:48 to play.
Houston stormed back with a 19-5 run to pull within 101-100 with 1:52 left. Jeff Green and VanVleet made back-to-back 3-pointers to finish the run and put the pressure on the Timberwolves in the final two minutes.
Minnesota held firm, as it scored the next eight points to take a 109-100 lead. Conley made a floating jump shot and Edwards made back-to-back dunks before adding two free throws with 38.2 seconds to go.
Houston trailed by at least five points the rest of the way.
The Timberwolves led 81-72 at the end of the third quarter. Cam Whitmore made a dunk to pull Houston within 75-72 with 1:50 to go in the quarter. Minnesota scored the final six points of the period on one basket by Edwards and two by Kyle Anderson.
Minnesota relied on a strong second quarter to build a 54-45 lead at halftime. Reid led all scorers with 17 points.
The Timberwolves closed the second quarter on a 23-4 run. Reid made a driving layup and a floating jump shot to start the run, and Edwards drained a pair of free throws to finish the first-half scoring.
–Field Level Media
