Scheduled
2026-27 · Regular season
Timberwolves beat Rockets 117-107 as LaMelo Ball scores 12 in the fourth quarter and Jonathan Kuminga hits two late threes
LaMelo Ball scored 12 of his 20 in the fourth quarter and Jonathan Kuminga hit two threes in the final 2:37 as Minnesota beat Houston 117-107 despite a Sengun triple-double.
In this article
LaMelo Ball scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Jonathan Kuminga hit two late threes, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Houston Rockets 117-107 at Toyota Center on Wednesday, November 4, in a game with 26 lead changes. Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 for Minnesota, which improved to 6-3. Alperen Sengun had a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Houston, which lost for the second time this season and fell to 7-2.
Tied at 84 entering the fourth
The Timberwolves led 33-30 after one quarter and the teams were tied 57-57 at halftime after Amen Thompson made two free throws with 0.5 seconds left in the second quarter. Houston held a 84-82 edge going into the fourth, and Dosunmu’s driving layup off a Jaylen Clark pass tied it at 84 with 11:41 left.
Houston led 94-91 after Jabari Smith Jr. made two free throws with 7:10 left. Ball then hit a three off a Jaden McDaniels pass to tie it at 94, and Minnesota went on a 10-2 run to lead 104-98 with 4:53 left. Ball made two free throws, hit a 25-footer off a Kuminga pass and drove for a layup in that stretch, and Clark added a 23-foot three off a Ball pass.
Video: NBA / X.
Kuminga seals it
Fred VanVleet hit a 27-footer to cut it to 104-102 with 3:46 left, and a fadeaway with 2:58 left made it 106-104, but Ball answered in between with a 7-footer. Kuminga hit a 23-foot three off a Dosunmu pass with 2:37 left for a 109-104 lead, tipped in a miss for 111-104 with 1:51 left and hit another 23-footer off a Rudy Gobert pass with 54.0 seconds left to make it 114-106. Gobert finished an alley-oop off a Ball pass with 40.5 seconds left. Ball made four of four shots in the quarter and scored 12 points in eight minutes.
Video: Minnesota Timberwolves / X.
The numbers
Minnesota shot 46 of 87 (53%) and made 15 of 35 threes (43%), but only 10 of 19 free throws. The Timberwolves had 28 assists and 17 turnovers, outscored Houston 54-40 in the paint and won the fast break 19-7. Houston shot 35 of 82 (43%) and 13 of 37 from three, made 24 of 30 free throws, and had 22 turnovers to 22 assists. The Timberwolves had 12 steals to Houston’s 6, and each team blocked 8 shots.
Dosunmu shot 10 of 20 and had 6 assists in 34 minutes. Ball shot 6 of 11, 4 of 7 from three, with 6 assists and 7 turnovers in 31 minutes. Kuminga scored 16 on 4-of-7 three-point shooting with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, McDaniels scored 14 with 8 rebounds, and Gobert had 8 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Bones Hyland scored 19 off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting in 16 minutes, and Clark added 10 with 2 steals.
Houston’s side
Sengun shot 5 of 15 and 7 of 9 at the line, with 4 turnovers. Kevin Durant scored 21 on 7-of-14 shooting with 4 turnovers, VanVleet scored 18 with 4 threes, Reed Sheppard had 14 off the bench on 3-of-8 three-point shooting, and Thompson had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Smith scored 11 on 3-of-4 shooting. Steven Adams (right soleus strain) and Clint Capela (right ankle sprain) did not play.
Kuminga was called for a flagrant foul 1 on Sengun with 5:23 left in the second quarter, and Sengun made both flagrant free throws to put Houston up 46-45. Rockets coach Ime Udoka was called for a technical foul late in the first quarter.
What’s next
The Timberwolves visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, November 6, at 8:00 p.m. ET (3:00 a.m. Saturday Cairo time). The Rockets visit the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, November 7, at 9:00 p.m. ET (4:00 a.m. Sunday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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