On night two of a back-to-back, 37-year-old Kevin Durant made sure Houston (24-15) had just enough in an important victory over Minnesota (27-15).
HOUSTON — The Rockets entered Friday in a historically awful 3-point shooting stretch, but Kevin Durant made sure to end it in Friday’s 111-105 victory (box score) over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With the win, the fifth-seeded Rockets (24-15) pulled closer to the fourth-seeded Wolves (27-15) in the tightly packed Western Conference standings.
Durant, a perennial All-Star and future Hall of Famer, was the big story.
On night two of a back-to-back for the Rockets (who lost to Oklahoma City on Thursday), the 37-year-old finished with a season-high 39 points and 7 assists while making 11-of-18 shots (61.1%), 6-of-8 from 3-point range (75.0%), and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line (78.6%).
“Be aggressive, and try to bounce back after last night,” Durant told Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson of his mindset. ”I just love that we’re staying together.”
The Timberwolves weren’t on night two of a back-to-back, but they were without All-Star guard Anthony Edwards (toe infection).
Beyond Durant, key individual statistics for both teams included:
- Alperen Sengun: 25 points, 14 rebounds; 11-of-22 shooting (50.0%)
- Amen Thompson: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; 5-of-12 shooting (41.7%)
- Reed Sheppard: 14 points, 2 assists in 19 minutes; 5-of-9 shooting (55.6%), 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
- Julius Randle (Timberwolves): 39 points, 4 rebounds; 14-of-25 shooting (56.0%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers ($0.0%), 9-of-11 on free throws (81.8%)
- Rudy Gobert (Wolves): 10 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks; 4-of-7 shooting (57.1%), 2-of-10 on free throws (20.0%)
- Naz Reid (Wolves): 25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists; 8-of-12 shooting (66.7%), 5-of-7 on 3-pointers (71.4%), 4-of-5 on free throws (80.0%)
Collectively, Houston shot 39-of-84 overall (46.4%) and 12-of-28 from 3-point range (42.9%), a dramatic improvement from recent games.
Next up for the Rockets is Sunday’s matchup versus New Orleans (10-34), which is the fourth of a five-game homestand at Toyota Center.
Tipoff of Rockets-Pelicans is at 6:00 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised regionally on Space City Home Network (SCHN) and nationally via NBA League Pass.
