Timberwolves Try To Start Win Streak, Continue Mastery Over Rockets

The Houston Rockets are on a 12-game losing streak as the team continues its rebuilding efforts. Unless they can pull off a victory against an undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves team Saturday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, another loss looms.

The latest loss of the Rockets came at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets, 117-122, Wednesday.

In that game, Houston was led by Jalen Green's career-high 41 points, along with seven assists and five rebounds. Backing him up was Alperen Sengun, who finished with a double-double performance of 24 points and 12 rebounds.

"I actually thought the way that we started the third quarter right after halftime, I was disappointed with that," Rockets coach Stephen Silas said, according to ESPN. "The ball kind of stuck a little bit and we missed a few shots, put our heads down."

For the Rockets to get back on the winning track, they need to improve their offense. They have an offensive rating of 109.3, putting them at last place in the NBA today.

The same holds for their defensive effort. They own a defensive rating of 117.3, which is 28th in the league.

Although the Timberwolves are missing the services of Karl Anthony-Towns, and other main stars like Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert are not at 100% health, Houston will need to push themselves more if they want to savor an end to their 12-game losing skid.

Minnesota did manage to win over the Toronto Raptors Thursday, 128-126, thanks to D'Angelo Russell. Although the Rockets are misfiring, the Timberwolves cannot afford to let their guard down.

Russell poured in 25 points in their last assignment and issued six assists. Backing him up was Edwards, who had 23 markers, seven assists and five rebounds.

"Encouraged by our guys stepping up," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said, according to ESPN. "They didn't have a lot of gas. Took them a long time to find it. I think the key to the game was we were able to keep scoring until we could find a defensive rhythm."

Minnesota is 15th in the league in terms of offensive rating with 113.3. Their defensive effort could also use a push, owning a 113.5 defensive rating, which is 17th in the league.

Oddsmakers picked the Timberwolves as -8 favorites to prevail over the Rockets, which are at +8. The Moneyline is -340 for Minnesota and +280 for Houston.

The Timberwolves lead the regular season series against the Rockets, 2-0.

Minnesota will try to pull off another win over the visiting Rockets Saturday at the Target Center, with tip-off set at 8 p.m. EST. The game will be shown over NBA League Pass, and live streaming will be available via fuboTV.