Timberwolves Beat Rockets 117-107 as Dosunmu Scores 21 and Kuminga Seals It Late

The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Rockets 117-107 at Toyota Center on Wednesday night. Ayo Dosunmu led Minnesota with 21 points and six assists, and LaMelo Ball added 20 points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter. Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 points with eight rebounds and five assists, and his baskets in the last two minutes finished the job for the visitors.

A game that kept changing hands

Neither team could hold a lead for long. The game had 15 ties and 26 lead changes, and the first half alone had eight ties and 14 lead changes. The teams went to halftime tied 57-57. Reed Sheppard, who scored 14 points for Houston, tied the game at 44 in the second quarter with a 3-pointer after a missed dunk by Kuminga. In the same quarter, Kuminga was called for a flagrant foul 1 after he elbowed Alperen Sengun in the jaw and knocked him to the floor. Houston won the second and third quarters by identical 27-point efforts and led 84-82 with one quarter to play.

Ball and Kuminga take the fourth

Houston still led by two midway through the fourth quarter. Ball then scored seven points during a 10-2 run, hitting a 3-pointer, feeding Jaylen Clark for another 3 and adding a driving layup that put Minnesota ahead 104-98 with 4:53 left. Sengun made one of two free throws and Fred VanVleet hit a 3-pointer to pull Houston within 104-102. Minnesota answered at once. Kuminga hit a 3-pointer, Dosunmu came up with a steal, and Kuminga scored again on a second chance basket to make it 111-104 with 1:51 remaining. Kevin Durant made two free throws for Houston, but Kuminga hit one more 3-pointer in front of the visiting bench to stretch the lead to 114-106 with less than a minute left. Minnesota won the fourth quarter 35-23.

Sengun triple-double is not enough

Durant led Houston with 21 points. Sengun posted the 13th triple-double of his career with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and VanVleet scored 18 points. Houston hurt itself with the ball. The Rockets committed 18 turnovers, and Minnesota turned them into 33 points. The Timberwolves also shot well from long range, making 15 of 35 attempts from behind the arc. Jaden McDaniels added 14 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.

Winning without Edwards

Minnesota won on the road without its star. Anthony Edwards is out for up to two months after arthroscopic knee surgery, and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. missed his second straight game with a bruised hip. The win lifts the Timberwolves to 6-3. Houston falls to 7-2, just its second loss of the season. The Timberwolves visit New Orleans on Friday night.

The final score was Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Houston Rockets 107.

How the quarters ran

Minnesota won the first quarter 33-30 and Houston won the second 27-24, which left the game tied 57-57 at halftime. Houston won the third 27-25 to lead 84-82, and Minnesota won the fourth 35-23 to close out the 117-107 win.