Print
Rockets roll past Wolves for fifth straight win
Houston 113, Minnesota 82
Video Recap
Box Score
Print
RSS Feed
Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Before the third quarter was finished on Friday night, Yao Ming grabbed his warm-up jacket and eased into a spot on Houston's bench for the remainder of the game.
He could have called it a night much sooner.
Behind one of their best offensive performances of the season and a bruising defensive effort, the Rockets dismantled the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half before coasting to an easy 113-82 victory Friday night at Toyota Center.
The game was essentially decided by the time there was three minutes remaining in the first half.
Houston, which picked up its season-best fifth straight win, buried the Wolves with its highest scoring half of the season, cruising to an insurmountable 65-33 halftime advantage.
By the time the game was over, the Rockets had canned 53.7 percent of their shots with six players in double figures. Luis Scola came off the bench to pace Houston with 22 points and nine rebounds.
The performance was so thorough that Rockets coach Rick Adelman applauded his team for not coming out lethargic against the NBA's worst team.
"I'm just really pleased with our team," Adelman said. "They've been so consistent with their approach game in and game out. They moved the ball and they defended well. I'm just really pleased with the whole mental attitude they're showing."
The Wolves, fresh off their fifth win of the season, didn't do much to slow down the Rockets in the first half.
During a five-minute stretch to open the second quarter, the Rockets scored on seven of nine possessions to turn the game into a blowout. Rockets rookie Carl Landry, playing in only his fourth game of the season, had a pair of emphatic dunks over the 16-4 spurt that doomed the Wolves. Minnesota came into the game allowing 101.9 points per game, the 24th worst mark in the league.
Before the second quarter was finished, the Wolves had slipped into a 33-point hole. Houston had canned five three-pointers and overwhelmed Minnesota's defense inside for 32 points in the paint.
The second half was merely a formality after that.
"It's fun to watch from our side," said Yao, who had 15 points and four rebounds in 28 minutes. "I think we came out with the right attitude, not just because we won four games (in a row heading into the game). We came home not thinking it was just a weak team coming in. They're not the best team in the league, to be honest, but we have to honor them. We came out and played hard and we got a big cushion before halftime. Everybody played really hard."
The Wolves never fought back, allowing Adelman to rest his starters and give playing time to some of his seldom-used reserves. No one took more advantage of it than Landry.
Failing to see action since Dec. 9, the Rockets rookie exploded for a career-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. He made all of seven of his shots, most of them dunks after snatching six offensive rebounds.
"I've probably got 30 messages on my cell phone," Landry said. "It felt great. This is about the best game I've had so far. It just felt great and, hopefully, I can carry this over to many more games this season. Hopefully, this can be the start of a great career for me."
The Rockets are hoping it's the start of a strong homestand.
Before Friday's action, the Rockets were hoping to get on a roll with their next five games at Toyota Center. Houston hasn't spent much time at home over the first two months of the season, playing 22 of its first 37 games on the road.
Now, they'll try to build off Friday's strong start.
"This is a very big victory for us," Scola said. "We are trying to build something here and you have to come in here and play really, really hard. We really needed to take advantage of this opportunity. Hopefully, we can use this game to continue to get better as a team."
