Timberwolves pull away late in Houston as Dosunmu, Kuminga hand Rockets second loss

The Minnesota Timberwolves went into Houston without their best player and came out with a road win over the best team in the Southwest Division. Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points, Jonathan Kuminga took over the closing minutes, and Minnesota beat the Rockets 117-107 on Wednesday night to improve to 6-3.

The Associated Press reported that Houston led by two midway through the fourth quarter. LaMelo Ball then scored seven points in a 10-2 run that put Minnesota ahead 104-98 with about five minutes left. Fred VanVleet hit a 3 to cut it to 104-102, and with the Wolves up two again, Kuminga made the plays that ended it. He hit a 3, Dosunmu came up with a steal, and Kuminga's tip-in pushed the lead to 111-104 with roughly two minutes to go. After Kevin Durant made two free throws, Kuminga hit another 3 to make it 114-106 inside the final minute. ESPN's line score shows Minnesota won the fourth quarter 35-23 after trailing by one going into it.

Kuminga finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. His night also included a flagrant 1 foul in the second quarter for an elbow that caught Alperen Sengun in the jaw and put him on the floor. Ball had 20 points, 12 of them in the fourth, a game after he scored a season-high 34. Jaden McDaniels added 14 points and eight rebounds.

The context matters. Anthony Edwards is out for up to two months after arthroscopic knee surgery, and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. missed a second straight game with a bruised hip, according to the AP. Ball, Dosunmu and Kuminga have had to carry the scoring, and on Wednesday they did it against a team SB Nation had billed before tipoff as one of the league's hottest. Sengun had a triple-double for Houston with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant scored 21 and VanVleet 18, but the Rockets still fell to 7-2, just their second loss.

What it means for New Orleans

Minnesota has won two straight, following Monday's 112-100 home win over Milwaukee with this one. That makes them 3-2 on the road and leaves them half a game behind Portland in the Northwest Division standings on ESPN. Their losses have come against Cleveland, Golden State and San Antonio. Two were close, a two-point loss in Cleveland and a five-point loss at home to the Warriors. The Spurs were the only team to beat them by double digits, 121-111.

Next is Friday's game at New Orleans, the Wolves' third road game in five nights. The Pelicans are 4-4 but have won four in a row, so Minnesota faces a team on a run while still missing Edwards and possibly Shannon. The wins over Miami, Orlando, Toronto and the Clippers were all by 22 points or more. The Wolves have also shown they can win tight games late, which the Pelicans are likely to test.

For more on the season, visit our Minnesota Timberwolves team page.