MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – When James Harden went through shooting slumps in the past, the Houston Rockets would be hard-pressed to survive lackluster production from their star guard.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – When James Harden went through shooting slumps in the past, the Houston Rockets would be hard-pressed to survive lackluster production from their star guard.
With Russell Westbrook, Houston has another player who can shoulder a huge scoring burden.
Westbrook scored a season-high 45 points and had 10 assists, and the Rockets overcame another tough night from Harden to rally past the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-124 on Friday night.
Westbrook helped key a second-half comeback after Minnesota led by six points in the third quarter. He finished 16-of-27 shooting, was 13 of 13 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. Eric Gordon scored a season-high 27 points off the bench for Houston, which won its second straight game following a season-long, four-game losing streak.
“That’s MVP Russ,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Harden, who went 1 for 17 from 3-point range in a home loss to Oklahoma City on Monday night, was 3 of 13 overall and 0 for 6 from beyond the arc against Minnesota. He finished with a season-low 12 points. Harden also left the game in the third period after taking a knee from Karl-Anthony Towns to his thigh. He was limping badly but returned in the fourth.
Over his past five games, Harden is shooting 33% from the field.
“Guys are playing well, and that’s what we need throughout the course of the year,” Harden said. “Russ got it going, Eric made some big-time shots. Austin (Rivers) played well. That’s what you need. Tonight was just a great team win for us.”
According to Stats, it was the second time in Harden’s career that he started a game and a teammate outscored him by at least 33 points. The other occasion was Feb. 2, 2011, with the Thunder, when Kevin Durant had 43 points to Harden’s seven.
Towns had 30 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost eight straight. Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points for the Timberwolves.
“We didn’t come out with the win, but we fought very well and competed very well,” Towns said. “We did a lot of good things defensively, actually, doing a lot of good things and sticking to our game plan. Russell hit some big shots. He was MVP for a reason, and in the fourth quarter he hit some really big shots, especially in the second half.”
After Wednesday’s 117-110 loss at Chicago, Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders said the team is simply not playing well. Saunders also challenged Wiggins at halftime of that game to be more productive.
