Timberwolves vs. Rockets 2018 results: James Harden scores 44 points in narrow Houston win

The final Game 1 of the first round kicked off on Sunday night as the No. 1 seed Rockets faced off against the No. 8 seed Timberwolves. It was a game of runs by both teams, and a game where Minnesota showed plenty of resilience as a scrappy underdog. This is a Timberwolves that has lost 11 games in a row in Houston and got down 11 points early, but continued to compete the entire game.

The part that may be troublesome for the Timberwolves moving forward is that while the game was close, all players not named James Harden went 3-of-25 from behind the three-point line. It’s hard to imagine the Rockets will shoot that poorly again, especially in this series.

The encouraging part for Minnesota is that Karl-Anthony Towns only had eight points, shooting 3-of-9 from the floor. They can assuredly get more out of Towns moving forward, and they’ll absolutely have to if they want to have a chance in this series.

But we can probably put that all to the side because James Harden plays for the Rockets and he’s virtually impossible to stop as evidenced in the second half of Game 1.

James Harden drops 44 as Houston escapes Game 1 on their home court. That marks Hardens’s 5th career 40-point playoff game.

The strangest thing just happened after a James Harden missed free throw. It appears no one on the court knew he only had one free throw to shoot. Not even the referee. What is this?!

Rockets on a 9-0 run and James Harden just hit his sixth three-pointer of the night. It sure has been sluggish offensive night for Houston but they’re suddenly looking like the No. 1 seed we were expecting.

Also this photo.

The game is also getting chippy after a tough no call here when Chris Paul elbowed Jeff Teague in the jaw.

Harden has 31 heading into the fourth quarter including this basket and the foul at the end of the 3rd. Buckle up for this fourth quarter. It hasn’t been a traditional Rockets offensive takeover but these final 12 minutes should be great.

In the strangest turn of events in today’s game ... Minnesota’s offense has featured Derrick Rose more than Karl-Anthony Towns. Rose is currently 4-of9 with nine points, while Towns is 1-of-6 with three points.

CLINT CAPELA EUROSTEP! He has 20 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. The FIRST HALF.

The Rockets aren’t shooting well at to be honest. The Wolves are hanging around. But I’d like to take this time to show you that Gerald Green came to the game in a Yao Ming jersey.

The Rockets ended the 1st quarter on a 6-0 run, after a 15-4 run from the Timberwolves. Capela leads all scorers with 10 points and five rebounds. The Rockets only hit two three-pointers in the first 12 minutes which feels quite low for a team that lives behind the line.

Houston is out and running and they’re running fast. Clint Capela leads the way early with 7 points.

The Houston Rockets are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 16-team NBA playoff format was instituted in 1984, and they begin their title quest with a first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves beginning Sunday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Houston was the only NBA team to reach 60 victories in the 2017-2018 season, going 65-17 for their best record in franchise history.

Chris Paul was the big addition for the Rockets last offseason, and in games that Paul, James Harden and Clint Capela played together this season Houston was a remarkable 42-3. Houston is once again a prolific offense under Mike D’Antoni, pacing the NBA at 114.7 points per 100 possessions, but their big leap this season came on defense.

The Rockets were 21st and 18th in defensive rating the last two seasons, but this year moved all the way up to sixth in the NBA, allowing 106.1 points per 100 possessions.

Houston faces a Timberwolves team full of expectations, but one that limped into the postseason, needing an overtime win on the season’s final day to punch their first playoff ticket in 14 years.

Houston beat Minnesota in all four regular season matchups, winning by an average of 16 points.

Location: Toyota Center, Houston

Game time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Announcers: Marv Albert, Chris Webber, Kristen Ledlow

Online streaming: Watch TNT