Harden takes 30-point streak to 31 games

Feb 15, 2019 06:00 am

Jeff Teague produced a double-double while Karl-Anthony Towns led a dominant performance in the paint by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who used a balanced scoring attack to thwart James Harden and the Houston Rockets 121-111 in Minneapolis yesterday morning (Singapore time).

Rookie guard Josh Okogie provided a spark with 16 points and played energetic defence on Harden, who still extended his streak of 30-point games to 31 with 42 points, matching Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Harden has recorded 22 40-point games this season.

Teague paced seven Timberwolves in double figures with 27 points and added a game-high 12 assists, while Towns paired 25 points with a team-best nine rebounds.

Dario Saric, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson recorded eight rebounds each as Minnesota posted a plus-10 rebounding advantage while also outscoring Houston 70-36 in the paint.

The Timberwolves shot 54.4 per cent from the field. They shot 51.2 per cent in the first half despite missing five of six three-pointers.

Chris Paul added 16 points and eight assists for Houston, while Kenneth Faried chipped in a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. - REUTERS