Rockets vs. Timberwolves Takeaways: Same Old Story, Anthony Edwards' Night, Tari Eason's First Career Start
The Houston Rockets (10-36) dropped their 13th consecutive game in a 113-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves (24-24) Saturday night, inside the Target Center.
Here are three takeaways as the Rockets' losing streak against the Timberwolves reaches a franchise-high seven.
Same old story:
The Rockets committed 21 turnovers, which led to 30 additional points for the Timberwolves.
The worst part of the Rockets' inability to take care of the ball, all 11 of their second-half turnovers came after they held a 12-point lead (68-56) with 8 minutes and 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
"We did not look very cautious when we were making these mistakes tonight," coach Stephen Silas said. "We got to get the ball moving and not stand around as much. We just turned it over way too much."
With 33 free-throw attempts, Houston did a great job staying aggressive to get to the line. But the Rockets finished the game shooting 57.6 percent from the charity stripe — they missed 14 shots from the foul line.
The Rockets came into the night as a decent free-throw shooting team, as they shot 76.1 percent from the line.
Anthony Edwards' season-high:
Add Anthony Edwards' name to the list of players who have scored 40 or more points against the Rockets this season. He became the ninth player to achieve the feat, second in Houston's previous three games.
"He did a good job," Silas said. "He attacked our switches and was making his threes. He just did a really good job."
Edwards scored a season-best 44 points on 17-of-29 shooting, 8-of-16 from the foul line. He scored all but two points from the field, as Edwards only went to the free-throw line twice.
The highlight of the night for Edwards took place with three minutes left in the second quarter. With no player switching on Edwards once Luka Garza set a pick on Jalen Green, he finished the possession with a two-handed dunk over the top of Alperen Sengun.
Edwards recorded another dunk on Sengun due to the Rockets' lousy defense with 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
Tari Eason shined in his first career start:
With Jabari Smith Jr. out due to a right ankle sprain, Silas took a different approach from the projected starting lineup. He started Tari Eason in place of Smith.
Eason added 14 points (5-11 FG, 1-2 3PT) and played a major role in helping the Rockets out-rebound the Timberwolves by 26. He recorded nine rebounds, with five coming on the offensive glass.
"He did a good job in his first career start," Silas said. "He crashed the offensive glass and pushed the ball up the floor, which helped us get out in transition. He got to the rim a few times and missed a couple of them. But he made most of the ones that he had."
Best performance:
Alperen Sengun was on the verge of another career performance over the previous 12 days. Naz Reid, who started in place of an injured Rudy Gobert, had no answer for the second-year prospect from Turkey.
Sengun began the game with 13 points while connecting on all six field goal attempts. Silas said the Timberwolves limited Sengun in the second half by creating more pressure to get the ball out of his hands.
He finished the night with a team-best 19 points (7-9 FG), 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Worst performance:
Consistency continues to be a problem for Jalen Green. Three nights after he tied his career-high of 41 points against the Charlotte Hornets, Green scored 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting, 1-of-4 from behind the arc. He also recorded a team-high six turnovers to go along with his appalling scoring.
Final Words:
"Turnovers were the story of tonight's game. Twenty-three turnovers in a nine-point game will kill you — not to mention 14 missed free-throws." — Stephen Silas.
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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