The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Houston Rockets 117-107 on Wednesday, November 4, behind 21 points from Ayo Dosunmu and a decisive fourth-quarter performance from Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while LaMelo Ball added 20 points and six assists as Minnesota (6-3) pulled away in the final minutes at Toyota Center. The Rockets (7-2) suffered only their second loss of the season.
Alperen Sengun recorded his 13th career triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Houston. Kevin Durant scored 21 points, while Fred VanVleet contributed 18.
Dosunmu led Minnesota’s starting lineup with 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting, adding six assists and two steals. McDaniels chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while Rudy Gobert contributed 11 rebounds and four blocks.
The Timberwolves entered the game without Anthony Edwards, who is expected to miss up to two months following arthroscopic knee surgery. Terrence Shannon Jr. also missed his second consecutive game with a bruised hip.
Minnesota trailed by two midway through the fourth quarter before Ball scored seven points during a 10-2 run that put the visitors ahead 104-98 with approximately five minutes remaining.
Houston responded with a free throw from Sengun and a 3-pointer by VanVleet to cut the deficit to 104-102. However, Kuminga helped Minnesota regain control in the closing minutes.
With the Timberwolves leading by two, Kuminga hit a 3-pointer before Dosunmu recorded a steal and Kuminga added a tip-in to extend the advantage to 111-104 with approximately two minutes remaining.
Durant made two free throws, but Kuminga answered with another 3-pointer to make it 114-106 with less than a minute left. Minnesota closed out the 10-point victory.
Kuminga was assessed a flagrant 1 foul in the second quarter after elbowing Sengun in the jaw and knocking the Rockets center to the floor.
The victory was another important result for Minnesota while Edwards remains sidelined. The Timberwolves finished with 28 assists and shot 53% from the field, compared with Houston’s 43%.
Minnesota visits the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, November 6, at 8 p.m. ET. Houston travels to face the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, November 7.
