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Rockets continue dominance over T-Wolves

Jan 25, 2011 - 4:16 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Kevin Martin led all scorers with 34 points and Luis Scola finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets won their 13th straight game over the Minnesota Timberwolves after earning a 129-125 decision at Target Center.

Shane Battier chipped in 19 points and Aaron Brooks went for 15 off the bench before fouling out for the Rockets, who snapped a brief two-game slide and have won four of their last six. Houston hasn't lost to the Timberwolves since a 103-99 overtime setback in Minneapolis back in January 2007.

Kevin Love posted his 30th straight double-double, finishing with 24 points and 17 boards for Minnesota, which has lost four straight and nine of 10 overall. Wesley Johnson donated 19 points in a reserve role, but fouled out in the late stages of the fourth quarter.

"It was really the second and third quarters. We let them have big quarters. That's were we lost it," Love said.

Martin paced the Rockets with 16 points in the first quarter to help his squad take a 39-31 after 12 minutes of action.

Things stayed close throughout the second and with the game tied at 61-61 with 1:33 left before the half, Martin's three-point play and Kyle Lowry's free throw had the Rockets ahead 65-63 at the intermission.

Six straight points early in the third quarter put Houston up 74-67 and Lowry drained a three to cap a 10-0 run to give the visitors a 14-point advantage at 86-72 with 5:38 remaining.

Chase Budinger's triple in the waning seconds of the period had Houston in front 100-88 after three and it would hold a double-digit advantage until the Timberwolves made a late push.

Brooks' fadeaway jumper with 5:10 to play put Houston up by a seemingly comfortable 16-point margin, 116-100, but Anthony Tolliver's make capped a 20-8 run by Minnesota to draw the Timberwolves to within four with 19.4 seconds remaining.

"Didn't like the way we finished, obviously," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman said. "They made a lot of jumpers early in the shot clock to come back and cut into the lead."

Martin and Lowry each drained two at the stripe to put the game out of reach and Wayne Ellington's three-pointer at the buzzer accounted for the 129-125 final score.

Game Notes

Lowry ended with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Houston, which shot 49.4 percent from the field and made 14-of-30 from three-point territory...Luke Ridnour had 18 points and Michael Beasley finished with 16 for the Timberwolves, who made 50.5 percent from the floor and hit 10-of-20 from beyond the arc.