Rockets Waste 26-2 Run, Blow OT Lead to Timberwolves
· Yahoo Sports
Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets put together a 26-2 run on the road in a tight Western Conference game- likely the most exciting game of the season.
And they still lost.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
Houston was down 93-82 to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth, staring at another game slipping away. Out of nowhere, everything flipped. The defense tightened up, the pace picked up, and shots finally started to fall. The Rockets closed regulation on a 13-0 run, dragging this game into overtime with pure effort and chaos.
And right in the middle of that chaos came the play of the night.
With seconds left and Minnesota pushing in transition, Alperen Sengun tracked Julius Randle downhill and met him at the rim- sending it back with authority, taking the contact, and walking away with a bloody lip. It was the kind of play that felt like it should decide a game.
It didn’t.
Overtime opened with a jolt with Reed Sheppard knocking down a quick catch-and-release three, Sengun protecting the rim and finishing everything inside, Durant finally finding his rhythm after a near empty first three quarters.
Before Minnesota could settle, Houston had ripped off a 26-2 extended run.
Down 11… to up 13. And somehow, Houston wasted it- and as quickly as it came together, it completely unraveled.
The offense slowed. The urgency faded just enough, while Minnesota stayed composed while Houston lost control of the game it had just taken.
The Timberwolves answered with a 15-0 run of their own, flipping the entire game back in the final minutes of overtime. What felt like a statement stretch from Houston turned into a scramble at the end, including a sequence where Kevin Durant drew a foul under the goal and was forced to intentionally miss a free throw to create one last chance that never came.
Minnesota knocked it out of bounds with 1.1 seconds left.
The ball was deflected on the throw in by Terrence Shannon Jr., and time runs out.
Game over.
You don’t get many chances to flip a game like that, especially on the road, especially this late in the season, and especially in a standings race this tight.
It took five minutes for the Rockets to steal the game, and three more in overtime to lose it. You just don’t lose this kind of game.
Final score: 110-108 Timberwolves