Houston's in the midst of yet another extended winning streak.
After dispatching the Wolves by 18 last night (126-108 @ MIN!), the Rockets are now just 0.5 GB Golden State for 1st place in the West.
James Harden put in 34 pts, 13! dimes & 6 boards - HOU hit 22! triples & shot 49% overall. The offensive firepower was magnified by a Wolves group still searching for defensive continuity. Does the convincing victory simply highlight how big of a gap sits between HOU and anyone lower than them?
Minnesota trotted out a their ideal starting five of Jeff Teague-Jimmy Butler-Andrew Wiggins-Taj Gibson-Karl-Anthony Towns and still got crushed by Coach Mike D'Antoni's powerful offensive machine (w/o Trevor Ariza!). The ball movement, penetration & outside shooting all played a part - Ryan Anderson chipped in 21 huge points off the bench (hit 6! triples), while Clint Capela put in 14 & 12 in just 25 minutes.
And oh..did you hear? Joe Johnson & Brandan Wright are set to join this week, giving D'Antoni even more depth & options to mix & match lineups.
Slowly but surely, Houston's bandwagon is getting full - on paper & in reality, things are starting to get way more interesting.