At 9 o'clock on December 28, Beijing time, in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Houston Rockets played at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After some competition, the Timberwolves reversed the Rockets 113-112. In this game, Shen Jing scored 38 points to set a new personal single-game scoring high in the season, and Edwards hit a three-point shot at the moment of counting.

Statistics

Rockets: Shin Jing 38 points and 12 rebounds, Green 14 points and 6 assists, Smith 12 points and 7 rebounds, VanVleet 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, Amen 20 points and 11 rebounds;

Timberwolves: Edwards 24 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Randle 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, DiVincenzo 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Reed 14 points, Walker 11 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists;

Background

The Rockets previously had a regular season record of 21-9 and a winning rate of 70%, ranking second in the West; On the other hand, the Timberwolves had a 15-14 regular season record, with a winning rate of 51.7%, ranking 9th in the West. The Rockets have been in outstanding form recently, defeating the Pelicans (twice), Raptors and Hornets in succession to win four straight regular season games. On November 27, the Rockets and the Timberwolves had one meeting, the Rockets defeated the Timberwolves 117-111, and Shin Jing scored 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

The course of the game

At the beginning of the first quarter, Randle took the lead in hitting a three-pointer, Shen Jing and VanVleet led the Rockets to a wave of 9-0, Edwards scored 5 points on an outside shot and Randle also hit a layup, and the Timberwolves launched a wave of 7-0. In the following period, the two sides alternated points on the offensive end through three-pointers, counter-attacking layups and free throws, and when Edwards and VanVleet hit three-pointers one after another, the Rockets 19-18. Then, both sides missed many times when they were cold. At the end of the quarter, Shin Kyung-zao made 2 fouls and 2 free throws to break the scoring drought. Immediately after, DiVincenzo made 2 fouls and 2 free throws to shoot back, and Edwards held the ball and broke through to make a layup to hit the whistle. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves were 22-21.

Entering the second quarter, both sides maintained a high shooting rate in the opening stage, alternately rising points through mid-to-long-range jumpers, free throws and break-through layups with the ball, and when Whitmore scored points with the ball and broke through to the layup, the Rockets trailed by one point at 32-33. Immediately afterwards, the Timberwolves were full of firepower on the outside, Randle and Minot hit three-pointers one after another, and the Timberwolves had a 7-point advantage. Smith scored on a step-back jumper and Shin hit a strong attack with the ball, but Randle, DiVincenzo and Conley all hit three-pointers to extend the Timberwolves' lead to double digits. At the end of the quarter, the Rockets tried to instigate a counterattack, Shen Jing and Amen scored 2+1 successively, and Shen Jing immediately singled out Gobert to score. At halftime, the Timberwolves led the Rockets by five points at 57-52.

Yibian fought again, and the offensive end of the Rockets blossomed at the beginning of the game, and a wave of scoring climaxes exploded, instantly chasing the score to a 59-59 draw. Randle hit an open three-pointer, but the Rockets hit back-to-back three-pointers from VanVleet and Amen scored on a dunk, and the Rockets built a six-point lead with a new scoring spurt. DiVincenzo hit a three-pointer and Gobert scored on a dunk, but the Rockets also made it 2+1 by VanVleet, and when Green broke through with the ball and hit a jumper, the Rockets led by six points at 78-72. At the end of the quarter, the Timberwolves tried to instigate a counterattack, but the Rockets steadily attacked the opponent's interior score with Shin Kyung and Tate taking turns. At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets were 84-76.

In the final quarter of the battle, Randle and DiVincenzo hit three-pointers successively to lead the Timberwolves to instigate a counterattack, but the Rockets were beaten by Green to 2+1, Amen hit the inside again and again, and Smith hit three-pointers in a row, and the Rockets launched a wave of scoring climaxes and extended the lead to 15 points. Then, the Timberwolves scored four points in a row, and Green immediately responded with a three-pointer. Walker hit a three-pointer, but the Rockets scored inside with Shin Kyung and Amen taking turns to score 108-93. The Timberwolves then burst inside and outside to blast a wave of 15-2 to close the deficit to 2 points. In the closing stages, Shin Kyung scored on a free throw, and Randle countered for a dunk, making it 112-110 for the Rockets. In the countdown, Edwards hit a three-pointer, and the Rockets missed the last shot. In the end, the Timberwolves narrowly defeated the Rockets 113-112.

Both sides start

Rockets: Green, Smith, Shin Jing, VanVleet, Amen;

Timberwolves: Edwards, Randle, Gobert, Conley, McDaniels;