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Rockets try to gain ground in tight Southwest Division(

Mar 19, 2009 - 11:57 PM By Nicolino Dibenedetto Stats Writer

Minnesota (20-48) at Houston (45-25) 8:30 p.m. EDT

HOUSTON (AP) -- For a Houston Rockets club trying to close the gap in an already tight Southwest Division race, a home game against the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Houston (45-25) is second in the Southwest, 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio. The Rockets are also one-half game ahead of Northwest Division-leading Denver for the third-best in the Western Conference. The Spurs host Atlantic Division-leading Boston on Friday, while the Nuggets are at home against struggling Washington.

The Rockets have won their last seven meetings with the Timberwolves (20-48), and have taken five in a row at home from Minnesota by an average margin of 18.8 points.

Houston has also won 14 of 18 overall - a run which includes a 105-94 victory at Minnesota on March 1, and continued Wednesday night at home with a 106-101 double-overtime win over Detroit.

Yao Ming had 31 points, 15 rebounds and shot 13-for-22 from the field against the Pistons. The showing came two nights after the All-Star center missed a 95-84 win at New Orleans due to flu-like symptoms.

"He's got to demand the ball," Rockets coach Rick Adelman told the team's official Web site. "If they front him or take him away, then we go to something else. But until they stop him, we've got to go through him every time.

"He's got the mentality that he's trying to fit in, and sometimes you just have to take control. It's something he's got to continue to work on. If they're going to play one-on-one, then he's got a huge advantage."

The 7-foot-6 Yao leads the team with 19.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, but he acknowledged Adelman's assessments.

"I need to be more aggressive, I guess," Yao said. "I've been in this situation before. I think I need to do more for the team."

Yao went 5-for-7 from the floor and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the March 1 matchup with Minnesota.

The Timberwolves have dropped 21 of their last 25 to fall out of playoff contention. They've dropped the first two contests on their three-game road trip, 93-86 in San Antonio on Tuesday and 94-93 at New Orleans the following night.

"We had a chance to win that game and hopefully things will turn around for us," Wolves forward-center Kevin Love said of the loss to the Hornets. "Sometimes it feels like we're beating our heads against a wall. ... We're all just trying to get better in these last few weeks and then prepare for next season."

Despite Minnesota's struggles, Love has been a bright spot of late. The rookie had 23 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday, and had 17 points and a season-high 19 boards in the loss to the Spurs. He's averaging 16.1 points and 10.9 boards over the last nine games, with six double-doubles in that span.