Timberwolves-Rockets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 30 2012 12:04AM

A week ago, Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale returned to his home state and led his team to a win over his former club, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With leading scorer Kevin Martin's status unknown, McHale's surging Rockets will try to collect another victory in Monday night's rematch at the Toyota Center.

McHale, a native of Hibbing, Minn. and onetime college star for the Golden Gophers, worked in various capacities for the Timberwolves after his retirement as a player following the 1992-93 season. He was fired from his second stint as the team's coach after the 2008-09 campaign.

He returned to the coaching ranks last June, when Houston hired him to try and end a three-season playoff drought. After an inauspicious 3-7 start, McHale has the Rockets (12-8) on that path with improvements at both ends of the floor.

Houston is averaging 102.2 points during a 9-1 stretch and is also playing better defensively, limiting the Timberwolves to 41.3 percent shooting in a 107-92 win at Minnesota last Monday.

Martin scored a team-high 31 points in that victory, but plantar fasciitis in his right foot has kept him out of the past two games. His absence has yet to slow down the Rockets.

Houston routed Washington 103-76 on Friday, then topped New York 97-84 on Saturday. Reserve forward Chase Budinger had 19 points against the Knicks, while Jordan Hill finished with 14 points and 11 boards off the bench for his sixth career double-double and second in as many games.

"You need to play more guys, just because how short the season is, how quick games are coming up," said Budinger, who scored a season-high 21 points Friday. "There are going to be nights where one player doesn't play well, so someone else has to step up. I think our team is doing a good job."

The Rockets usually do a good job against the Timberwolves (9-11), having won 15 of the last 16 meetings. However, the defeat came the last time Minnesota visited the Toyota Center, a 112-108 loss last Feb. 8.

Kevin Love led the Wolves with 20 points and 14 rebounds in that win, but his 33 points Sunday weren't enough to help the Timberwolves defeat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.

Minnesota rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit but couldn't take control in a 106-101 loss. Michael Beasley had 18 points and a season high-tying 12 rebounds in his second game back from a foot injury, but point guard Ricky Rubio finished with a career-low five points.

"We've been a second-half team the entire year," Love said. "We just need to come out in the first 24 minutes and replicate what we do in the second half."

Rubio, averaging 11.1 points, missed 11 of 13 shots in Sunday's defeat and 10 of 12 while scoring six points against Houston last week. Love, meanwhile, had a season-high 39 points and 12 rebounds in last week's loss to the Rockets.

Love has scored at least 20 points in each of his last three games against Houston and has recorded double-doubles in each of his last five.

The Rockets would surely like to get Martin back for this game, as he's averaged 27.3 points over his last six matchups with Minnesota. His replacement in the starting lineup, Courtney Lee, should still be available after avoiding injury in a car accident following Saturday's win.

Adelman wins return to Houston

By CHRIS DUNCAN
Posted Jan 30 2012 11:33PM

HOUSTON (AP) Rick Adelman has mostly good memories from his years in Houston, and his new team delivered one more on Monday night.

Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Rockets 120-108 in Adelman's return to Houston.

Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who blew open a close game with a franchise-record 42 points in the third, also a season high for any quarter.

The 6-foot-10 Beasley, in just his third game back after missing 11 games with a sprained right foot, set a franchise record for single-game points by a reserve. He went 10 for 14 from the field and 12 for 12 from the free-throw line to finish just eight points shy of his career high.

"That's what I've got to do," Beasley said. "I've got to penetrate, use my athleticism."

Minnesota shot a season-best 58 percent (43 of 74) from the field and eclipsed its previous high point total for the season by 14.

And it could've hardly happened on a better night for Adelman, who turned down the Rockets' offer to renew his contract after last season because of philosophical differences with owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey.

"We didn't try to attack on one pass, we moved the ball from side to side," Adelman said. "I thought we could get to the basket if we did that. It was a really good team win. A lot of guys played and a lot of guys contributed."

Adelman revealed more about the reasons for his departure before the game, half-joking that he was still awaiting a phone call from Alexander. Adelman said he read in a local newspaper column that he was to blame for the communication breakdown between the two during his tenure.

"I didn't think anything of it, until I saw the stuff about how I never listened to anything," he said. "I'm not real smart, but I'm going to listen to my boss. That just kind of turned me the wrong way."

Morey walked up and shook Adelman's hand during pregame warmups, and the two had a brief, apparently cordial conversation.

Adelman seemed more animated on the sideline than usual, though, especially once the second half began.

The Timberwolves opened the second half with a 12-4 burst, capped by Love's second 3-pointer for a 66-60 lead. Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin answered with 3-pointers, and Lowry turned a steal into a breakaway layup to tie it at 68.

Minnesota then pushed the tempo and poured it on, finishing the quarter with a 19-6 spurt. The Wolves hit 15 of 24 shots, including four 3-pointers, and went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line to put together the highest scoring quarter against Houston this season.

"It was just like we were sitting there and we could never find any kind of rhythm defensively," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We never got many consecutive stops, we never really dug in and got things."

Rubio, Beasley and Love led the scoring barrage, with 32 points in the third on 10-for-12 shooting. Minnesota led 96-81 heading to the fourth, and the Rockets hardly challenged the rest of the way.

"It's fun basketball when you're that efficient," Love said. "We got open shots, set good picks and we just did the little things that helped us have a big third quarter."

Martin scored 29 points after missing two games with inflammation in his right heel. The Rockets lost for only the second time in 11 games.

"Just felt like one of those games when we were stuck in the mud," McHale said.

Minnesota finished 28 of 31 from the free-throw line and dished out 18 assists. The Timberwolves have won six of nine to get within one game of .500, and they're starting to get excited about the possibilities this season.

"We know we can go on big runs," Love said. "It's just the case of not getting down so much and not having to fight back from such a large deficit."

Chase Budinger scored 13 for Houston, also outrebounded 40-34.

The Rockets beat Minnesota 107-92 a week ago in McHale's first game back in his home state since he succeeded Adelman last June. The teams play again in Minneapolis on Saturday.

NOTES: The Timberwolves have five road wins, already matching their total in each of the previous two seasons. ... Timberwolves G J.J. Barea (sprained left ankle) sat out for the 10th time in 11 games. ... The Rockets had their streak of games with double-digit leads halted at 13. ... Minnesota's field-goal percentage (58 percent) was a high for a Houston opponent this season.

Notebook: Wolves 120, Rockets 108

By Matt Miller, for NBA.com
Posted Monday January 30, 2012 11:34PM

THE FACTS: With Michael Beasley healthy again and regaining his form, rookie Ricky Rubio developing with each game and Kevin Love being, well, Kevin Love, the Minnesota Timberwolves may have discovered their own "Big Three."

Beasley scored a season-high 34 points off the bench, Love added 29 points and seven rebounds and Rubio chipped in with 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to lead Minnesota past the Houston Rockets, 120-108, on Monday at Toyota Center. The Wolves' trio shot a combined 26-for-39 (66.7 percent) while tearing holes through Houston's defense, which allowed opponent season highs in shooting percentage and points.

Kevin Martin poured in a team-high 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting in his return from a two-game absence (inflammation in right heel) to lead the Rockets (12-9), who had won nine of their last 10 games and 15 of their last 16 meetings with the Wolves (10-11).

QUOTABLE: "I've seen Beas [Beasley] score in a couple games like that. ... One thing we're trying to build with him is a consistency. He was focused tonight. Me and Beas came in early today and got our work done, and I just wanted to help him with focus, because I think when he's focused he can't be stopped. ... He did all the work, but I just wanted to help him get in a zone."
-- Minnesota guard Martell Webster on Beasley's potential.

THE STAT: The Wolves became just the second Rockets opponent in the last 14 games to connect on at least 46 percent of its field-goal attempts, shooting a season-best 58.1 percent (43-for-74) overall. This was certainly a great way for Minnesota to bounce back after a dismal 38.5 percent (40-for-104) effort in Sunday's loss to the Lakers.

TURNING POINT: The Wolves buried the Rockets with a franchise-record 42-point third quarter on 62.5 percent shooting (15-for-24), including a 4-for-7 effort from 3-point range. After handing out only six assists in the first half, Minnesota started to work the ball around the court more and pushed the tempo off six Houston turnovers en route to eight third-period assists. The Rockets' defense showed little resistance throughout this game, but it looked particularly lethargic coming out of the break.

QUOTABLE II: "We never found anything defensively that we could hang our hat on. ... It just felt like one of those games where we were stuck in the mud."
-- Houston head coach Kevin McHale.

GOOD MOVE: After spending the first half distributing the ball to his teammates, Rubio attacked the basket with aggression and looked for his shot in the third period. The adjustment paid off for Minnesota and Rubio, who scored 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting and dished out five assists during the Wolves' third-quarter onslaught.

HOT: Beasley has rounded back into shape quickly after missing 11 games due to a right mid-foot sprain, scoring at least 15 points in back-to-back contests. After tying the Wolves' franchise-record for scoring off the bench (34 points) on 10-for-14 shooting (12-for-12 at the free-throw line) to go with three rebounds and one steal Monday, Beasley is averaging 24.5 points on 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals over his last two contests

QUOTABLE III: "No disrespect to [Rockets guard] Courtney Lee, but he's like a foot shorter than me."
-- Beasley on Lee, who simply was outmatched when attempting to defend Beasley in the post.

NOT: Houston's 3-point-shooting woes continued Monday as the Rockets shot a mediocre 7-for-19 from long distance. Houston has drained only 31.2 percent (24-for-77) of its attempts from beyond the arc over its last four games, failing to eclipse the 37-percent mark in all of these contests.

BAD MOVE: In the first quarter, Rockets forward Luis Scola was falling out of bounds underneath Houston's basket when he threw the basketball against Love to avoid a turnover. The only problem was that the ball inadvertently smacked against Love's groin area, knocking the All-Star forward to the floor for a couple moments in what was one of the most painful hustle plays of this season.

NOTABLE: Minnesota played without starting center Darko Milicic (illness), who has low potassium levels and did not travel with the team. Wolves guard J.J. Barea traveled with the team but remains sidelined as he recovers from a strained left hamstring. ... Minnesota has won two games in a row at Toyota Center. ... Love failed to record a double-double for only the second time in 21 games this season. ... The Wolves improved to 4-1 on the road against Western-Conference foes. ... Minnesota won for the first time this season (1-6) when allowing at least 100 points. ... Houston fell to 0-6 when its opponent connects on at least 50 percent of its shots. ... Houston lost for the first time this season (7-1) when scoring at least 100 points. ... Martin has netted at least 25 points in five consecutive games.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Wednesday vs. Indiana, Friday @ New Jersey, Saturday vs. Houston. For the Rockets, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday vs. Phoenix, Saturday @ Minnesota.

• Timberwolves: Barea, Lee
• Rockets: Morris, Thabeet

• Timberwolves: Adelman
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #30 John Goble, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 14264
• Duration: 2:11