Rockets win 9th straight, this time in another blowout

After trailing early, the Rockets came back to blow out the Timberwolves in their home 126-108.

The Houston Rockets (43-13) are now an astounding 30 games over .500 after their win tonight over the Minnesota Timberwolves (35-25). This win once again puts the Rockets just 0.5 games back of the Warriors for the No. 1 seed in the West.

The Rockets started the game off slowly. They were down by over 10 points in the first quarter, but contributions from just about everyone helped the Rockets win their 9th straight game.

Two new Rockets

Brandan Wright and Joe Johnson were not able to play tonight. Wright has officially signed and will be ready for action hopefully tomorrow night. If not, then we will see him after the All-Star break.

That’s likely when we’ll see Joe Johnson, too, as he hasn’t officially signed yet due to his buyout process being a bit longer.

Let’s get into the stats of tonight’s game:

Key Stats

James Harden: 34 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 turnover

Chris Paul: 13 points, 11 assists

Ryan Anderson: 21 points, 6/10 from 3

Clint Capela: 14 points, 12 rebounds

How the Rockets won/Analysis

The Rockets were able to do something no team has done since the middle of December: win in Minnesota. The T-Wolves were on a 13-game home winning streak before the red-hot Rockets stepped into their building.

James Harden really stepped it up when the team needed him most, proving that he is one of the premier finishers in the league. He had 17 points in the fourth quarter and led the Rockets to a blowout near the end of the game.

Speaking of blowouts, the Rockets are back to doing that quite a bit again. 6 of the 9 games on this winning streak have been decided by 10 or more points.

Ryan Anderson shrugged off his poor performance against Dallas to have one of his best games of the year. Off the bench, he hit 6 shots from deep and looked much more confident. Should he continue to play with the second unit?

Clint Capela had a dominant first half and tapered in the second. He still had another double-double, but he had 12 points and 9 rebounds at halftime yet finished with 14 and 12. He still had a block and had to focus on guarding one of the best offensive centers in the league, Karl Anthony-Towns.

Next Up

The Rockets will play the Sacramento Kings in the second night of a back-to-back before going into the All-Star break. The game is tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Houston!

Next: James Harden wins yet another Player of the Week award