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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Terrell Brandon had an excuse for his and the
Minnesota Timberwolves' poor start Monday.
"I'm used to sleeping at 2:30 in the afternoon, so it was tough
to come out here on New Year's Day and play," Brandon said after
scoring 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter of Minnesota's
106-96 victory over the Houston Rockets. "We were a little more
consistent in the second half and showed that we weren't
sleepwalking."
|  | | As the Rockets' Carlos Rogers can attest, LaPhonso Ellis has sole possession of this rebound in the second quarter. |
Kevin Garnett scored 21 points to lead the Timberwolves, who
beat the Rockets for a sixth straight time despite the 30 points of
Cuttino Mobley. Mobley had a career-high 33 points on Oct. 31, when
the teams met in the season-opener.
"He's a great player," Minnesota guard Chauncey Billups said
of Mobley. "If you can get to the basket and make your shot like
he does, you can do that in this league. But it doesn't matter if
he gets 160 if we win the game."
Wally Szczerbiak also had 19 points for the Timberwolves, who
finished with a season-high 35 assists and a season-low eight
turnovers.
"That's about as balanced an effort as you'll see," Minnesota
coach Flip Saunders said. "We were able to use our bench and get
guys some rest, which was very important."
Steve Francis, who fouled out with 6:12 to play, added 20 points
for the Rockets. Francis got his fifth foul defending Garnett, then
immediately went after Brandon on a drive to the basket and was
whistled again. It was only the second time this season he fouled
out.
"I heard that he had five, so I asked Flip to let me try to get
the sixth on him," Brandon said. "I didn't think it would come
that fast, but I made a nice move and he bit on it."
The Rockets started the game with three straight 3-pointers and
led by as many as eight points in the first quarter as Francis
scored 10.
"Houston is an extremely tough team to defend because of their
perimeter people," Saunders said. "I told our guys to just hang
in there and keep playing for the easy shot. I was encouraged by
the fact that we stayed hungry down the stretch."
But Houston went cold from the field in the second quarter,
going 4-for-19. Brandon hit a long jumper with just under four
minutes to play in the half, giving the Timberwolves their first
lead of the game. Brandon had seven points in the second quarter as
Minnesota took a 48-45 halftime lead.
"I'll take our chances with the shots we got," Houston coach
Rudy Tomjanovich said. "We had a couple roll in and out and missed
some layups and shots in the paint. It came down to shooting, and
we just didn't make the shots I think we can make."
Szczerbiak had 10 points in the third quarter as Minnesota
opened up a double-digit lead late in the period. But Mobley had 11
points in the quarter, including the five in the last minute, to
keep the Rockets close. But they couldn't overcome the loss of
Francis midway through the final quarter.
"That hurt," Tomjanovich said. "I was hoping he wouldn't get
his sixth on a pick and roll. Instead of keeping himself in the
game, he goes out on the next possession."
Mobley, who played the game in pain from an abscessed tooth, was
14-for-16 from the free throw line, the attempts a career-high.
Game notes
Minnesota forward Sam Mitchell made his first
start of the season Monday. He is the lone remaining member of
the inaugural Timberwolves team from the 1989-90 season. ... The
announced attendance of 14,779 was Minnesota's smallest home crowd
of the season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
Knee cyst sidelines Olajuwon for at least two games
RECAPS
Minnesota 106
Houston 96
Portland 89
Charlotte 67
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Wally Szczerbiak drives the baseline for two of his 19 points.
avi: 490 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site
Kevin Garnett Official Site
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