The Timberwolves had answered Thompson’s dunk with a 15-2 run in just 2½ minutes, cutting the lead to two. Şengün sank one of two free throws, but Julius Randle drove to a dunk with 58 seconds left, pulling the Timberwolves to within one.

Despite leading by 16 points with under 5:00 left, the Rockets (21-10) fell apart down the stretch in a stunning home loss to Minnesota (16-14).

The first half didn’t look great, with the Timberwolves shooting lights out from three. Minnesota shot around 70% from the 3pt line at halftime, but only lead by five points, 56-52, basically due to Rockets tenacity,

The Rockets scored 39 points in the first quarter en route to a blowout victory Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of a back-to-back.

The New Orleans Pelicans lost their eighth consecutive game Thursday night. This one was to a Rockets team that they also lost to one week ago.

The Houston Rockets (20-9) visit the New Orleans Pelicans (5-25) on Thursday. Tip-off from Smoothie King Arena is at 8 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's NBA odds around the Rockets vs. Pelica