Houston Rockets Rain 3s to Beat the Timberwolves

The Houston Rockets shot 22-58 from beyond the arc en route to beating the Timberwolves for the second time this season.

Mike D’Antoni: “I think we can average 50 3-point attempts for the rest of the season.”

James Harden: “Coach be tripping, I told you.”

The coach and superstar of the Houston Rockets made those statements before playing the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. 50 threes per game may seem crazy, but Mike D’Antoni may not exactly be “tripping.” The Rockets finished with a total of 58 long range attempts, finding the mark on 22 of them to shoot 38%. This led them to defeat the Timberwolves in a high scoring affair.

86. . 142. 169. 130

Sharing the wealth seemed to be the name of the game Saturday night. Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon hit 4 threes apiece, and both Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza contributed with three made attempts from deep. Lou Williams showed out in his Toyota Center debut with 2 threes and 17 points overall. Sam Dekker also joined the party with a long bomb, and of course, James Harden had 5 of his own, scoring 24 points and dishing out 10 assists.

The big men played well too, with Clint Capela and Nene Hilario combining to score 27 points. They also combined to shoot about 80% from the field, an incredibly efficient mark.

Houston stayed true to their Moreyball scheme, only attempting one shot that wasn’t at the free throw line, from beyond the arc, or in the paint.

The Minnesota Timberwolves deserve a lot of credit, though; they wouldn’t go away. Every time Houston wanted to run away with game, the Timberwolves had a run of their own to stay within striking distance.

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Karl-Anthony Tows and Andrew Wiggins both had great games. Towns put up a massive 37 points and 22 rebounds, while Wiggins had 30 on 11/22 shooting. Ricky Rubio had a decent game himself with a double, double 14 points and 11 assists.

Also, Nemanja Bjelica and Shabazz Muhammad tallied double figures off the bench, with 10 and 11 respectively. It’s not usual that a team puts up 130 points in a NBA game and doesn’t leave the gym with a W.

That being said, the defense was a little shaky for the Rockets. That definitely will have to improve in the upcoming games with 4 possible playoff opponents on the schedule the next two weeks. However, the offense seems to be in great stride. The threes are falling from the sky and the forecast doesn’t show any signs of letting up. Let it rain, let it rain.

Next: Is Andrew Bogut Houston-bound?

After a day of rest, the Houston Rockets will take on the Indiana Pacers at the Toyota Center on Monday night. If they shoot and make threes at the same rate as they did against the Wolves, there shouldn’t be any problems.

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