Houston (2-4) at Minnesota (3-3)

[ducks]

Houston (2-4) at Minnesota (3-3)
Houston (2-4) at Minnesota (3-3)

Preview - Box Score - Recap

Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Tue Nov 15, 2005
TV: FxSW, FxNo Add to Calendar
Buy Tickets


Minnesota Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy share a common frustration.
With both of their teams coming off sluggish losses, Casey and Van Gundy each hope for more out of their players when the Wolves host the Rockets.

Minnesota fell to 0-3 on the road with a 102-91 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. The Wolves were outrebounded for the fourth time in six games as the Nuggets held a 54-30 advantage on the boards.

The deficit was the largest for Minnesota since Portland recorded a 50-22 margin on April 25, 1999. The Wolves are averaging 37.3 rebounds per game and giving up 44.7.

"I thought we participated instead of competing," Casey said. "The game was on the schedule and we just showed up."

ADVERTISEMENT


Wally Szczerbiak had 20 points, Kevin Garnett added 19 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Rashad McCants contributed a career-high 14 points off the bench before being ejected for slamming the ball and taunting Nuggets center Marcus Camby.

"We obviously have some work to do," Szczerbiak said. "We just have to start giving a better effort."

Minnesota will be looking to improve its perimeter defense, which allowed the Nuggets to shoot 58 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent overall. The Wolves have been a better defensive team at home, holding opponents to 79.3 points per game at the Target Center.

The Rockets are looking to rebound from their worst offensive performance and worst loss of the season, 102-82 to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

"They were much more assertive, aggressive on the boards, on every loose ball, they were just playing harder than we were," Van Gundy said.

Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming each scored 14 points, but the rest of the starting lineup combined for only 12 points. Houston shot 37.5 percent from the field.

Reserve Stromile Swift scored a season-high 17 points for the Rockets, who conclude their five-game road trip with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

McGrady played his second straight game since returning from a back injury that sidelined him for three contests. The Rockets lost all three of those games, but the five-time All-Star led Houston to a win over New Jersey on Saturday.

STANDINGS (through Nov. 13): Rockets - 5th place, 2 1/2 GB, Southwest Division. Timberwolves - 2nd place, 1/2 GB, Northwest Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Rockets - F Juwan Howard, F Derek Anderson, C Yao, G McGrady, G Rafer Alston. Timberwolves - F Szczerbiak, F Garnett, C Michael Olowokandi, G Trenton Hassell, G Marko Jaric.

TEAM LEADERS: Rockets - McGrady, 24.0 ppg; Yao, 9.0 rpg; Alston, 4.5 apg. Timberwolves - Garnett, 20.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg and 5.7 apg.

2004-05 SEASON SERIES: Timberwolves, 2-1.

LAST MEETING: March 20; Timberwolves, 94-86. At Minneapolis, Garnett scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and Szczerbiak added 20 points for the Wolves.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Rockets - 1-2 on the road; Timberwolves - 3-0 at home.

[ducks]

Houston 94, Minnesota 89
Houston 94, Minnesota 89

Preview - Box Score - Recap

By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer
November 15, 2005

AP - Nov 15, 11:26 pm EST
More Photos


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Houston Rockets finally showed some scrap, and their All-Star showed off his skills at the end.

Tracy McGrady scored 25 points and made three consecutive clutch plays down the stretch to lead the Rockets to a 94-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

McGrady, who went 13-for-13 at the free-throw line, grabbed eight rebounds and had 13 points in the fourth quarter. He hit a long jumper over Trenton Hassell with 2:35 remaining to put Houston up for good, 85-84, after trailing most of the night.

"It's up to a team's best player to make big plays down the stretch of games," McGrady said. "Either offensively or defensively, the best players have to make plays to win games."

He did it both ways.

After Wally Szczerbiak missed a jumper, McGrady zipped a pretty pass from the top of the key to give Rafer Alston -- who had beaten Troy Hudson on a backdoor cut -- an easy layup with 2:04 left.

ADVERTISEMENT


Then Hassell's risky crosscourt pass was stolen by McGrady on the following possession to feed Alston for another layup and seal a much-needed victory for the Rockets, who had lost four of their previous five.

"That's exactly what the game was about, hanging in there," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We went through some bad stretches, just like they did. We found a way."

Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 25 points, Szczerbiak scored 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting and Michael Olowokandi had 10 points and six rebounds while neutralizing Yao Ming on defense.

With Hassell and a host of others constantly smothering McGrady, defending was certainly not the Wolves' problem. Coach Dwane Casey has stressed that from the start, and there has been noticeable improvement on that end of the floor.

But with a handful of new players trying to find their role and Szczerbiak trying to find his shot, Minnesota is clearly not comfortable yet on offense.

"We're getting good looks," Szczerbiak said. "We're just not making them."

The Wolves shot 48.3 percent from the field in the second half, but they looked disorganized on their final critical possessions and didn't score between Garnett's jumper with 3:52 left and Szczerbiak's meaningless layup with 11.9 seconds remaining.


AP - Nov 15, 11:19 pm EST
More Photos


"We're going to have a great chance if our offense does catch up," Casey said.

McGrady returned from a bout with back spasms to score 30 of his 35 points in the second half of a win at New Jersey on Saturday. He was held to 14 points the next night in a 20-point loss at Boston.

The first half wasn't so smooth for McGrady, who shot only 1-for-6 and had four turnovers over the first 24 minutes. But he came through when his team needed him most.

"He'll work his way into shape," Van Gundy said.

Houston was without McGrady for three games, but the effort had been lethargic most of the season. Asked before tipoff for his thoughts on the NBA's installation of the daily, three-player inactive list, Van Gundy quipped, "We've been a team on the inactive list. It hasn't been three guys. It's been 15."

Though still far from perfect, this was certainly a better performance for a team that Van Gundy called "Rockets gone wild" last week.

"He's concerned about our fight and our intensity and our effort," said Alston, who finished with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting including the two late layups. "I always say, 'It starts with me."'

The Wolves, who lost at home for the first time in four tries, wanted to push the ball and exploit Houston's lack of speed, but they seemed to get bogged down by their opponent's slow pace at times and never could break away.

Though the Rockets never led in the first half, they tied it at 39 on a three-point play by Yao with 3:13 left before the break.

But Minnesota closed the second quarter with an 8-0 run, and Houston showed some of the sloppiness that has hounded the Rockets during this frustrating start to the season. McGrady had three of his team's five turnovers during that stretch, the first coming on a risky pass that was intercepted by Hassell at midcourt and taken the other way for a three-point play when McGrady fouled him during a layup.

Garnett finished the spurt with a shot-clock beating 21-footer, giving the Wolves a 47-39 lead.

Notes

Announced attendance was 14,091. The Wolves entered the game ranked second-to-last in the league with an average of 14,594. ... Houston rookie Luther Head, who got 29 minutes in Saturday's game against New Jersey, didn't play.