Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from Game 3 vs. Timberwolves

2. The Rockets defense collapses

After putting together two consecutive stellar performances on the defensive end without the services of forward Luc Mbah a Moute in Houston, the Rockets didn’t show up in Game 3. Minnesota found a way to take advantage of their lackluster energy throughout the night on the way to putting together its best offensive performance of the postseason.

For the third consecutive game in the last six nights, Houston continued to cross-switch and double-team Karl-Anthony Towns, using several players from Eric Gordon to P.J. Tucker in the effort to try and keep the All-Star center off balance yet once again.

However, the Timberwolves made a minor modification that would prove to pay huge dividends, sending cutters inside the paint to force Houston’s defense to collapse. This led to clean looks and opportunities for Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Andrew Wiggins, who surprisingly managed to beat Houston at its own game and hit big shots late in the contest.

In Game 3, Minnesota shot an astounding 15-for-27 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc, and exploited Houston’s frontcourt by driving to the rim for easy opportunities inside.

Although Houston did a solid job of holding Towns in check early on, Minnesota’s offense proved to be nearly unstoppable once it sought to get its big man the ball in the second half. The Wolves got wherever they wanted on the floor and played aggressively through the full 48 minutes.

The Timberwolves managed to take advantage of the Rockets size down low by continuously attacking the teeth of the defense, and knocking down largely uncontested shots, which proved to be the defining story of the ball game.