HOUSTON (AP) -- With plenty of reasons to quit, the Minnesota
Timberwolves instead rallied past the Houston Rockets on Wednesday
night.
Marcus Banks hit the go-ahead jumper in the fourth quarter and
scored 15 points as Minnesota snapped a 14-game road losing streak
with an 82-79 victory.
"We've lost a bunch on the road, I don't even know how many,"
said Eddie Griffin, who had the last of his five blocks in the
final minute. "It's a relief to get this one."
The Timberwolves would appear to have more motivation to lose as
the season winds to a close.
Minnesota traded Sam Cassell and a No. 1 draft pick to the Los
Angeles Clippers in the offseason and the draft pick is lottery
protected. The Timberwolves only keep the pick if they finish 10th
or higher in the draft lottery. If they're 11th or worse, the
Clippers get it.
The Wolves looked more like a team fighting for the playoffs in
the fourth quarter Wednesday, holding the Rockets without a field
goal for the last 9 minutes.
"These are young guys and we're trying to win," said Minnesota
coach Dwane Casey. "For me to build a winning environment, you
have to try to win every night. These guys were scratching and
diving for balls and they deserved to win."
Playing without leading scorers Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis,
the Timberwolves won away from home for the first time since a
103-101 victory at Phoenix on Feb. 6. They overcame an 18-point
first-half deficit to hand the Rockets their sixth loss in six
games when All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming both sit out with
injuries.
Yao, who missed 21 games after toe surgery in December, is now
sidelined 4-6 months after breaking his left foot in Monday's loss
to Utah. McGrady has missed 31 games this season, including the
last 17, with back problems.
The Rockets were playing their first home game since losing five
of six on a West Coast swing. They've been out of the playoff
picture for weeks, but they were bitterly disappointed about losing
on Wednesday.
The 18-point lead was the largest they'd blown all year.
"I know these games don't mean anything," Rockets guard David
Wesley said, "but we still have to go out there and compete."
The Rockets led 71-61 early in the fourth quarter, then missed
their final 12 shots to let it slip away.
"We had good shots down the stretch. We just didn't make
them," said Rafer Alston, who led Houston with 17.
Minnesota pulled to within six three times in the final quarter
before driving layups by Bracey Wright and Banks cut the deficit to
two.
Keith Bogans sank two free throws with 4:52 to go, but Banks
sank a 3-pointer a minute later to trim the deficit to one. He
added a 20-foot jumper with 1:27 left to give the Timberwolves a
78-77 lead.
"In the fourth quarter, they started to fatigue," Banks said.
"We don't ever want to be the team that fatigues."
The Rockets had two chances for the game-winner in the final
minute, but Griffin blocked Bogans' layup try and Alston missed a
long jumper on the other.
Trenton Hassell and Wright each sank two free throws in the
closing seconds.
Juwan Howard added 15 for the Rockets, who led 41-23 after Chuck
Hayes' layup in the second quarter.
Mark Blount had 16, Banks had 15 and Wright and Justin Reed
added 13 apiece for the Timberwolves, who played without Garnett
(knee tendinitis), Davis (groin), guard Anthony Carter (sore foot)
and rookie Rashad McCants (sprained ankle).
Howard was about the closest player resembling a "star" on
either side and he got hurt three minutes into the game when Blount
blocked his driving layup. Howard came down holding his right
shoulder and went to the bench before returning in the second
quarter.
Without any top scorers, the game was predictably ugly, as the
patchwork teams missed 18 of their first 20 shots.
The Rockets controlled the boards, though, and nudged the lead
into double digits as the Timberwolves continued to shoot poorly.
Houston led by 10 at the half and stayed comfortably ahead in the
third quarter.
The Timberwolves came back, though, and won for just the second
time in six games.
"We both were without our star players," Casey said. "We
struggled the first quarter and they struggled the fourth
quarter."
Game notes
The star-free game drew a decent crowd, announced as
16,499. ... Jon Barry, waived by the Rockets in March 1, did color
commentary on the local television broadcast. Barry appeared in 20
games this season and sat out most of January and February with
calf and foot injuries. ... Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson
was showing around new assistant GM Daryl Morey before the game.
Morey, hired on April 3, previously worked as the Boston Celtics'
senior vice president of operations and will succeed Dawson after
next season.