National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 92, Houston 79
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 19, 2013
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #30 John Goble, #79 Kevin Scott
Attendance: 16799

Timberwolves 92, Rockets 79: Chris Johnson and Mickeal Gelabale, who were not in the league 24 hours ago, combined for Minnesota's first 23 points of the fourth quarter as the host Timberwolves snapped a five-game losing streak.

Andrei Kirilenko had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Luke Ridnour scored 16 points to help shorthanded Minnesota send Houston to its seventh consecutive defeat.

James Harden struggled through another rough shooting night en route to a team-high 18 points for the Rockets, who dropped back to the .500 mark.

A rash of injuries forced the Timberwolves to sign Johnson (15 points) and Gelebale (11) to 10-day contracts Saturday morning, and the duo took over with the game on the line. Johnson, who was playing in the NBA Development League, scored eight straight points to extend a four-point, third-quarter lead to 71-62 with 9:18 to play.

Gelabale, a member of the French national team at the London Olympics, then scored 10 of the next 11 points to help the Rockets build an 82-72 advantage with 5:13 left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Timberwolves F Dante Cunningham was a late scratch, leaving the team with only nine players after rookie G Alexey Shved (ankle) and C Nikola Pekovic (thigh) both were hurt in Thursday's game. Pekovic will miss at least a week. ... Harden connected on 5 of 18 shots and is 15-of-60 in his last three games for Houston, which has trailed by double digits in the first half in six straight contests. ... Derrick Williams and J.J. Barea each scored 11 points for the Timberwolves.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Minnesota
James Harden 18 Scoring Andrei Kirilenko 21
James Harden 5 Assists Ricky Rubio 6
Greg Smith 8 Rebounds Andrei Kirilenko 11
James Harden 8 Free Throws Made Chris Johnson 7
James Harden 2 Steals Andrei Kirilenko 3
Chandler Parsons 1 Blocks Greg Stiemsma 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 79 32.1 8-31 21-28 14 43 2 8 20
Minnesota 92 46.9 3-14 29-36 14 37 4 4 15
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Rockets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.