Community Picks: Minnesota 0% vs Houston 0%

HOUSTON (AP) James Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Houston Rockets to outlast the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-101 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. Minnesota scored four straight points to get within 3 with about 30 seconds left. Chris Paul added two free throws after that for Houston, but a tip-in by Karl-Anthony Towns got Minnesota back within 3. Continue to Article

April 16, 2018 1:23:am EST

Trailing by 1 in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Houston Rockets needed someone to step up. Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Rockets to outlast the Timberwolves 104-101 Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. Minnesota scored four straight points to get within 3 with about 30 seconds left. Continue to Article

April 16, 2018 1:04:am EST

James Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Houston Rockets to outlast the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-101 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. Minnesota scored four straight points to get within 3 with about 30 seconds left. Chris Paul added two free throws after that for Houston, but a tip-in by Karl-Anthony Towns got Minnesota back within 3. After a bad pass by Paul gave the Timberwolves a chance to tie it with 1.5 seconds left, Jimmy Butler's shot was short. The Timberwolves had a one-point lead with about seven minutes left when Houston used a 9-0 run, with the last seven points from Harden, to make it 94-86 with about four minutes Continue to Article

April 15, 2018 11:42:pm EST

James Harden delivered a virtuoso performance, aided significantly by a Clint Capela double-double, and the Houston Rockets survived Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series, earning a 104-101 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Harden finished with 44 points and eight assists, carrying the Rockets to a 1-0 series lead. Capela chipped in 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Continue to Article

April 15, 2018 11:40:pm EST

So far the trade for Chris Paul to give the Houston Rockets another superstar to help James Harden has worked famously. Now the two, who have both had their fair share of playoff disappointments, will try to carry their regular-season success into the postseason when the Rockets open a first-round series with Minnesota on Sunday night. The guards have been effusive in their praise for one another, with Harden recently joking that his relationship with the nine-time All-Star was ''love at first sight.'' Paul didn't go quite that far, but a huge smile crossed his often serious face when asked how their pairing has worked. Continue to Article

April 15, 2018 12:38:pm EST