The Houston Rockets have not experienced back-to-back losses all season. They aim to maintain that streak when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
The Rockets are coming off a 104-98 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, marking only their second defeat in the last nine games.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka noted that his team’s half-court offense stalled too often. Despite winning 12 of their 18 games this season, the Rockets have recently struggled when opposing defenses switch on their players.
This contest is an NBA Cup West Group A encounter. Houston (2-0) leads the group, while Minnesota (1-1) is one game back.
The Timberwolves are also focused on improvement as they return home from a bumpy two-game road trip. They lost 110-105 to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, then fell 107-105 to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
After 16 games, the Timberwolves are sitting at .500. Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves, averaging 27.9 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting from the field, including 43.8 percent from 3-point range. Julius Randle (21.8 points per game) and Naz Reid (13.8) round out the top three scorers.
Houston is led by Jalen Green, who averages 18.7 points despite shooting 38.2 percent overall and 30.7 percent from beyond the arc. Alperen Sengun is next with 18.3 points and a team-high 10.6 rebounds per game. Veteran Fred VanVleet ranks third with 14.5 points per game.
The NBA fined VanVleet $50,000 on Monday for confronting officials during Saturday’s loss to the Trail Blazers, resulting in his ejection from the game.
Udoka wants the Rockets to improve their 3-point defense on Tuesday. He noted that part of the reason for their last loss was the team’s lack of aggression near the arc.
