Harden's triple-double helps Rockets over Wolves 123-118 (Apr 12, 2017)
HOUSTON (AP) James Harden had his 22nd triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Houston Rockets wrap up the regular season with a 123-118 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
The MVP contender became the first player in NBA history to finish the regular season with at least 2,000 points (2,356), 900 assists (907) and 600 rebounds (659).
The Rockets had a 12-point lead after a 3-point play by Patrick Beverley with about nine minutes left. Minnesota cut into the lead with a 6-2 spurt before Houston got consecutive 3-pointers from Harden and Eric Gordon to extend the lead to 113-99 midway through the quarter.
Harden, who also had four steals and a block, found Clint Capela on an alley-oop dunk after that, before hitting another 3-pointer to make it 118-99 and spur Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau to call a timeout.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points and 21 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who end the season with a six-game losing streak. Towns also made NBA history by becoming the only player to have at least 2,000 points (2,061), 1,000 rebounds (1,007) and 100 3-pointers (101) in a season.
All five of Houston's regular starters started Wednesday after coach Mike D'Antoni had given everyone but Harden time off in the last few games in preparation for the first-round playoff series against Oklahoma City.
Ryan Anderson made six 3-pointers for the Rockets and finished with 20 points and Capela had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Four straight points by the Timberwolves cut Houston's lead to six points with about two minutes left in the third quarter. But Houston scored the lead eight points of the quarter, led by 3-pointers from Lou Williams and Harden, to extend their lead to 95-81 entering the fourth.
A 3-pointer by Towns got the Timberwolves within a point early in the third quarter before Houston used a 10-2 run to push the lead to 76-67 with about nine minutes left in the period. Ryan Anderson made consecutive 3-pointers to start that run and Capela capped it with back-to-back baskets.
The Rockets led by 13 early, but the Timberwolves had tied it at 60-all by halftime.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins finished with 21 points. ... Shabazz Muhammad had 22 points. ... Kris Dunn had 10 points with 16 assists.
Rockets: Houston had at least 60 points at halftime for the 39th time this season. ... Anderson scored 20 points or more for the 14th time. ... Trevor Ariza added 15 points.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Season over.
Rockets: Begin first round of playoffs against Oklahoma City on Saturday or Sunday.
