HOUSTON---The Rockets fell to 7-2 on the season after Wednesday's 117-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a game that featured 15 ties and 26 lead changes the Wolves outscored the Rockets 35-23 in the fourth quarter to hand the Rockets their first loss inside Toyota Center, despite playing without Anthony Edwards.
Ayo Dosunmu led the Wolves with 21 points, while LaMelo Ball added 20. Alperen Sengun finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for the 13thtriple-double of his career.
Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's loss to the Wolves:
The Rockets were outscored 40-27 in their first loss of the season on Friday night in Dallas, and the fourth quarter was the story again on Wednesday. The Rockets were outscored by 12 in the game's final 12 minutes. The Wolves closed the game on a 13-5 run after Fred VanVleet's three-pointer with 3:46 to play brought the Rockets within two.
"We got stops," Wolves head coach Chris Finch said. "We turned up the pressure a little bit. The pin downs by (Kevin Durant) were hurtin' us for a while, and we were able to get into that. They went small and we were able to survive that, too."
Minnesota shot 62% in the fourth quarter and converted on 6 of 9 three-point attempts. LaMelo Ball scored 12 of his 20 points in the period, knocking down all four of his shot attempts.
"LaMelo was incredible there in the fourth, got everybody going, and they just all felt confident," Durant said. "That happens the whole game. I just think we were too loose on them the whole game."
Durant's six field goals attempts in 33 minutes during Monday's win over the Boston Celtics was the fewest he had ever taken in a game where he had played at least 12 minutes, and he attempted fewer than 10 shots in three of the last four games. Durant was far more involved in the Rockets offense on Wednesday.
Durant finished with 21 points on 7 of 14 shooting in 35 minutes while attempting six free throws. He took eight shots in the second half on Wednesday after attempting just one in the second half on Monday against the Celtics.
"I think I started this game just like I started last game," Durant said. "Sometimes coach calls my number early in the game to kind of gauge how the defense is playing and seeing if they're gonna double or where they're helping from and then we can play the game from there."
The Wolves mostly played Durant straight-up with Jaden McDaniels, as opposed to Monday when the Celtics opted to put two bodies on him much of the night.
"That's why I love playing against Minnesota," Durant said. "Jaden McDaniels stands up on his own and guards and doesn't ask for help, doesn't say nothing. He just plays, and I really respect him."
The Rockets matched a season-high with 22 turnovers, leading to 33 Wolves points on Wednesday. 15 came in the first half; four were in the fourth quarter.
"The turnovers were the story tonight, throughout the whole game," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said. "They were more physical, more aggressive, and we didn't handle them going after the ball. You take care of the ball, you'll get wide open shots against them."
Durant, Sengun, and VanVleet were the biggest culprits, finishing with four turnovers apiece. Wednesday was the first time the usually sure-handed VanVleet finished with four turnovers in 26 games.
The Rockets turnover rate is 16.2% through the first nine games of the season, ninth worst in the NBA. Their turnover rate was 15.7% last season, when VanVleet was injured.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/rockets/onsi as 3 Takeaways from the Rockets 117-107 loss to Wolves .
