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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

Takeaways: Tari Eason enjoys career night as Rockets fall in Minnesota

Tari Eason Rockets MIN Alperen Sengun Minnesota (Organization) Jonathan Feigen Jackson Gatlin ATT Sportsnet Jalen Green KJ Martin

Rookie forward Tari Eason scored a career-high 17 points in only 23 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting (75.0%), including 2-of-2 on 3-pointers, but it wasn’t close to enough for the Houston Rockets in Saturday night’s 129-117 setback (box score) at Minnesota.

Karl Anthony Towns led the host Timberwolves, who improved to 5-5, with 25 points (64.3% FG, 50.0% on 3-pointers), 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. The Rockets lost their sixth straight and fell to 1-9 on the season, which is currently the NBA’s worst record.

Houston’s backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green struggled as shooters, combining to score 34 points — including a team-high 21 by Green — on a combined 9-of-28 shooting (32.1%) with 8 turnovers. By contrast, frontcourt starters Alperen Sengun and KJ Martin were much more efficient. Sengun had 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting (88.9%), along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Martin had 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting (75.0%) and 3-of-5 on 3-pointers (60.0%).

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interviews from Saturday night at Target Center. The next stop for Houston’s four-game road trip is Monday night in Orlando, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Central. That game could feature a matchup of two highly touted rookie forwards in Paolo Banchero of the Magic and Jabari Smith Jr. of the Rockets, though it remains to be seen if Smith will play, since he missed Saturday’s game in Minnesota with an illness.

Highlights

Analysis and Interviews

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