Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from Game 2 vs. Timberwolves

Despite spending the first five and a half quarters off of their game, the Houston Rockets managed to breeze past the Minnesota Timberwolves by double digits in Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. Here are the three takeaways from Clutch City’s latest postseason outing.

Through the first two games in the opening round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the Houston Rockets have not played up to the level that many across the country have known them to over the last two seasons under head coach Mike D’Antoni. Wednesday night, they got off to one of their worst starts all year long.

Houston, who finished the regular season with the second-best offensive rating in basketball, shot a season-low 20 percent from the field in the opening quarter of Game 2, and were down by as many as nine points early on in the contest.

However, none of that would matter the rest of the way.

Chris Paul poured in a game-high 27 points and eight assists, alongside Gerald Green‘s playoff-high 21 points off the bench, to help the Rockets earn a 102-82 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Toyota Center.

James Harden, whose 44-point performance helped Houston garner a hard-fought win in the series opener, was never able to recover from his rough start in the first half, scoring just 12 points on 2-of-18 shooting.

Nemanja Bjelica led the way for Minnesota with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, while Andrew Wiggins added 13 points in a losing effort.

Here are the three major takeaways from Clutch City’s win in Game 2.