Third time's a charm: Rockets drop Wolves in triple OT

By Michael Murphy, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 14, 2010 1:52AM

HOUSTON (NBA.com exclusive) -- Heading into Wednesday's home game, there was little doubt that the Rockets wanted to make quick work of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After all, the weary Rockets were playing the second game of a back-to-back set, and they were going up against Minnesota, which entered the game owning the worst record in the Western Conference, both overall and on the road.

So yeah, the Rockets probably planned on a quick night's work. Instead, the game turned into one of the longest nights in franchise history.

The Rockets needed three overtimes, but managed to finally wriggle free and escape with a wild 120-114 triple-overtime victory before 15,175 at Toyota Center.

"There was never a doubt in that one," deadpanned Houston coach Rick Adelman. "That was an unbelievable game. Give Minnesota credit. They kept coming back, but our guys stayed with it and hung in there."

The game produced a raft of staggering statistics, franchise records, career highs and epic moments. The biggest of those moments came at the end of regulation, with Minnesota staring at an 89-86 deficit with 2.4 seconds remaining. Corey Brewer, a 26-percent 3-point shooter, took an inbound pass from Kevin Love and let loose with a prayer from behind the midcourt line.

Swish. Amen.

"When he made that," Adelman said, "I thought, 'This is going to be a long night.'"

Indeed it was. After losing at Charlotte the night before, the last thing the Rockets wanted -- or needed -- was overtime.

So they got three of them.

"I blame Jonny Flynn," said Trevor Ariza of Minnesota's rookie point guard from Syracuse who played in a landmark six-overtime game in the 2009 Big East quarterfinals against Connecticut. "He brought all those overtimes here with him."

Perhaps, but it was Houston point guard Aaron Brooks who brought the Rockets home with the win. Brooks, who logged a leg-numbing 59 minutes, the most played by an NBA player this season, torched Flynn for a career-high 43 points.

"We got the win," said Brooks, who added five assists and turned the ball over just once during his marathon performance. "It seemed like the ball was always going in when we needed a stop. We were playing good defense for the most part (but) there was a tap-in or a 3-pointer with a hand in his face, not to mention the half-court shot.

"They played hard. It was a battle."

A battle that easily could have gone either way.

Minnesota stumbled at the start, giving up a 17-0 run to the Rockets and falling behind by 19 points in the first period.

But the Timberwolves, who have won only three road games this season, got a huge game from Al Jefferson, who caught fire in the second half to finish with 26 points and a career-high -- and franchise-record -- 26 rebounds in 49 minutes. And Wayne Ellington came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds remaining in the second overtime that forced the final session.

"We kept fighting and getting back into the game," Jefferson said. "No matter how tired we were, we knew they [the Rockets] were more tired [since they were] coming off a game [at Charlotte] last night. But give them respect for that and the win.

"I'm really crushed."

If Jefferson truly feels crushed, it's probably because he had Chuck Hayes leaning all over him throughout the game.

Hayes, whom Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis described as "an immovable cinderblock" in his pre-game chat with the media, was a rock for Houston. Battling the 6-10 Jefferson in the post, the 6-6 Hayes, the NBA's shortest starting center of the shot-clock era, more than held his own, finishing with 10 points, a career-high 17 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

"I tried. I tried," said Hayes of battling Jefferson. "But if you play a game 63 minutes, he's eventually going to get the best of you. He's a big guy, and for how big he is he's very skilled.

"I had to counter him with something. They feed him [Jefferson]. They look for him and he's going to get his touches."

As has been the case this season, the Rockets spread it around, even though Adelman insisted that he wanted Brooks to keep the ball in his hands a bit more considering the effectiveness of his scoring.

But while Brooks certainly got his, launching 30 shots, the other Rockets stayed involved. Shane Battier not only finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, but also hit a big breathing-room 3-pointer from the corner in the third overtime. Trevor Ariza had 19 points and seven assists in a career-high 57 minutes, and Carl Landry rebounded from Tuesday's fourth-quarter benching vs. Charlotte to put up 16 points and seven rebounds.

"My adrenaline was high," Landry said. "I'm not even tired now. I'm sure I'm not going to be able to go to sleep until five in the morning. I'll be laying in the bed, just watching TV all night. My adrenaline is still going."

• Timberwolves: Hollins
• Rockets: McGrady, Ming

• Timberwolves: --
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #54 Derrick Collins, #51 Leroy Richardson
• Attendance: 15175
• Duration: 3:10