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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- If the Minnesota Timberwolves were haunted by the Joe Smith contract controversy, they didn't show it.
|  | | Minnesota's Terrell Brandon sails past Steve Francis on his way to two of his 22 points. |
"I don't think our guys even thought about it that much," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said after his team, without Smith, built a 26-point lead and then held on for a 106-98 season-opening victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
"There are definitely distractions going into every season, but the character of this team keeps coming to the front."
Saunders said he was more pleased to finally play a meaningful game and put aside thoughts of Smith, whose contract was voided by the NBA because of a secret pact between him and the team.
"No matter what happens I think we're still going to go out and
play and we're going to be pretty good," Saunders said.
Kevin Garnett scored 28 points and Terrell Brandon added 22 for
the Timberwolves who never trailed but withstood a 33-point effort
from Houston's Cuttino Mobley, including 15 in the final quarter.
"The second half was more like a park atmosphere and not like
the NBA," Brandon said. "It's not really our style. They were
making their runs at us and we're not that type of team, but we
kept our composure and we had a big enough lead."
The Rockets trailed only 98-91 when Brandon converted a
technical foul shot for an illegal defense call against Houston.
Garnett followed with a 10-footer with 2:49 to restore Minnesota's
lead to 10 points.
Kelvin Cato hit one of two free throws, and Mobley had a dunk off a turnover to make it 103-96, before Garnett made a 10-foot
jumper, then grabbed his 11th rebound with 33 seconds left to slow
Houston's rally.
"Kevin can beat you a lot of different ways," Saunders said.
"He showed great energy and he made some great shots down the
stretch."
"With the Joe Smith situation up in the air, we have to play
more like a team," Garnett said. "The opening game is always one
of the most exciting of the year. It's almost like a playoff game.
You always want to get off to a good start."
Minnesota did that in the game as well, scoring the first nine
points and using an 18-4 burst midway through the second period to
build a 21-point lead.
"Our youth showed up early," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich
said. "We were really excited and made some bad decisions. We dug
ourselves in a deep hole and couldn't get out."
"The first half went bad and Minnesota took advantage of that," Mobley said. "You can't make that a habit. We have to overcome it."
When the Rockets opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt,
Minnesota responded with an 11-1 streak that pushed the advantage
to 78-52 after a basket from Rasho Nesterovic, who finished with 16
points and 13 rebounds.
Hakeem Olajuwon, playing in his record 17th season with the same NBA franchise, played 18 minutes and had only four points and six rebounds. He and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz share that record, topping the 16 seasons Dolph Schayes spent with
Syracuse-Philadelphia and John Havlicek was with Boston.
Game notes
The Rockets are 18-5 at home against Minnesota and 33-20
overall. Minnesota swept all four games of their series last season, winning by an average of nearly 18 points. ... Olajuwon is 174 points shy of 26,000, and 43 rebounds shy of 13,000. ... Minnesota is 5-7 in season-opening games. Houston is 17-17. ...
Garnett has scored in double figures in 211 straight games.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 82
Cleveland 86
New Jersey 82
Orlando 97
Washington 86
Dallas 97
Milwaukee 93
Philadelphia 101
New York 72
Detroit 104
Toronto 95
Sacramento 100
Chicago 81
Minnesota 106
Houston 98
San Antonio 98
Indiana 85
Utah 107
LA Clippers 94
Golden State 96
Phoenix 94
LA Lakers 96
Portland 86
Vancouver 94
Seattle 88
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Steve Francis jams home the Walt Williams' miss.
avi: 604 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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