WOLVES WALLOPED

Rockets crush Wolves 139-109 but Tucker injures shoulder

After Thursday night's ugly loss in OKC, the Rockets needed one like this, coming home Saturday to play the Minnesota Timberwolves without their best player in Karl-Anthony Towns.

It wasn't pretty in the first quarter, but James Harden and the Rockets caught fire and blew the doors off of Minnesota 139-109, even though it may have come at a price.

PJ Tucker injured his shoulder in the first quarter and was down on the floor for several minutes before being accompanied to the locker room by a trainer who appeared to be holding his arm up. We're hoping for good news but it wasn't encouraging.

Harden committed 11 turnovers in the first half and missed five of his first six shots, but caught fire after that, finishing with 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Russell Westbrook added 30 points, his second straight 30+ point night, and 10 assists on 10-23 from the floor. Eric Gordon hit 5-12 from deep off the bench.

But most surprising performance came from Isaiah Hartenstein, who hit 8-9 shots for 17 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and two steals in just 25 minutes of play. The Rockets were a +41 on the floor when he was in the game.