Anthony Edwards #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves controls the ball against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Toyota Center on January 08, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points and the host Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 12-point, second-half deficit to defeat the reeling Houston Rockets 113-104 on Saturday.
The Rockets committed seven of their 23 turnovers in the fourth quarter to grease the skids of their 13th consecutive loss. The Timberwolves, who have won eight of 11 overall, scored 30 points off those turnovers and improved to 7-1 at home this month.
Edwards shot 17 of 29 and made 8 of 16 3-pointers. He added six rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks to his ledger. Nathan Knight scored a season-high 19 points with three steals off the bench, helping the Timberwolves overcome the absences of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
44 PTS
6 REB
4 AST
3 STL
3 BLK
8 3PMAnthony Edwards. Hooper. pic.twitter.com/p71PULXskx
— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2023
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 19 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, but he scored just one point in the fourth quarter. Jalen Green missed 10 of 13 shots and committed six turnovers en route to his 10-point effort.
The Rockets also missed 14 free throws.
The Timberwolves used a 12-0 third-quarter run to climb back into contention. Edwards and Knight worked in tandem to erase a 70-59 deficit. Knight sank three free throws in addition to a layup, while Edwards added a layup, dunk and an assist on a Taurean Prince 3-pointer.
Edwards scored 16 points in the third. After trailing 68-56 with 8:17 left in the period following an Eric Gordon 3-pointer, the Timberwolves carried an 87-84 lead into the fourth.
Minnesota shot just 34.6 percent in the opening quarter but, courtesy of eight Houston turnovers, closed the period with a plus-eight advantage in shot attempts that yielded a 26-26 deadlock entering the second period. The Rockets shot 11 of 18 in the frame but labored containing Edwards (10 points) while also allowing Jaylen Nowell to chip in six points off the bench.
After Houston secured its largest lead of the first half at 49-42 on a Jae’Sean Tate 3, Edwards responded with a thunderous dunk before Jaden McDaniels stole the inbounds pass and scored to cut the margin to three.
Houston led 52-50 at the break despite missing 6 of 8 free throws while the Timberwolves converted 13 of 16 at the line.
Sengun had a double-double by the intermission (13 points, 11 rebounds) while Edwards had 19 points.