Davis torches Rockets in Minnesota debut
(The Sports Network)
Updated: 2006-01-28 13:38

Ricky Davis scored 26 points in his Timberwolves debut, leading Minnesota to a 96-92 win over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

Kevin Garnett added 26 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Timberwolves, who ended a three-game losing streak in their first game since trading for Davis on Thursday.

Houston Rockets' Stromile Swift (4) loses the ball as he is fouled by Minnesota Timberwolves' Mark Blount, bottom, defends during the fourth quarter of their NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 27, 2006 in Houston. The Timberwolves beat the Rockets, 96-92. [AP]

"It's a great start," said Garnett of his newest teammate. "Everything I anticipated. He was Ricky Davis tonight. Played great D. You know you are getting a high energy player."

Davis came to Minnesota along with guard Marcus Banks, center Mark Blount, forward Justin Reed and a pair of conditional draft picks in exchange for forward Wally Szczerbiak, center Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones and a first-round draft choice.

"It felt great to put the blue on and I have wanted to be here for a while," said Davis. "This is what the team needed to get off the funk."

Tracy McGrady ended with only 19 points and had eight assists for the Rockets, who had a two-game winning streak come to a halt. Stromile Swift also had 19 points and David Wesley finished with 18, but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds as Houston fell for the ninth time in 12 contests.

Minnesota held a 15-point lead less than midway through the third quarter when Davis connected on a bucket for a 58-43 advantage.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Trenton Hassell (23) works for position against Houston Rockets' Rafer Alston, right, during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 27, 2006, in Houston. The Timberwolves beat the Rockets, 96-92.[AP]

Houston, however, began to mount a comeback and scored 19 of the final 26 points of the stanza to go into the fourth down just 65-62.

The Rockets then tied the game for the first time in the fourth at 71-71 when McGrady drained a three-pointer with just over two minutes gone in the frame.

The game remained close with Minnesota taking the lead for good on a pair of Garnett free throws with just over five minutes left, 82-80. After Rafer Alston missed on the other end, Garnett drained another bucket to extend the advantage to 84-80.

Later, the Timberwolves increased the lead to 90-84 when Garnett hit 1-of-2 from the line with 2 1/2 minutes on the clock.

The deficit was trimmed to 92-90, but the Rockets couldn't find the tying bucket. Then, down 95-92 coming out of a time out, Wesley missed a wide open three-pointer with nine seconds remaining and Garnett hit 1-of-2 from the line with two seconds left to ice the game.

"On the last two possessions we got great looks," said McGrady. "The ball just didn't bounce the way we wanted it to."

Alston ended with 16 points.

Houston led 27-25 after one quarter, but Minnesota used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to turn a 32-30 deficit into a 42-32 advantage. The Timberwolves then coasted into the break with a 54-42 edge.

Rashad McCants had 18 points for the Timberwolves.

Game Notes

Davis hit 10-of-18 shots from the field...Minnesota shot 49.3 percent from the floor for the game...Houston hit on 40.2 percent of its shots...Trenton Hassell had 10 points and six boards for Minnesota...Houston fell to 4-14 at home...Minnesota improved to 7-13 on the road.