He spent last season -- along with Lue -- on Doc Rivers staff.

MINNEAPOLIS - The Houston Rockets found themselves in an unexpected fight as they staggered into overtime against lowly Minnesota, and James Harden and Dwight Howard couldnt do anything to help them.In what has quickly become a defining characteristic for this version of the Rockets, they somehow found a way.Harden had 38 points before fouling out and Nick Johnson scored on a driving layup with 0.8 seconds to go in overtime that helped the Rockets escape with a 114-112 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday night.I foul out and they still go out there and win the game, Harden said. Small things like that put it in our minds that were building and were growing as a team.Harden made 11 of 17 shots and also had six assists, but he fouled out with 1:20 to play in regulation and the Rockets let a 13-point lead with 5 minutes to go slip away. Jason Terry, the veteran who has been so valuable with Howard out, hit a 3-pointer and then two free throws in overtime to finish with 19 points. Terry also fed Johnson for the winning bucket.Thaddeus Young had 19 points for the Timberwolves, the last two coming with 15.9 seconds to go in overtime to tie the game at 112.But Johnson got loose on the final possession and bulled to the rim to hit a tough layup that gave the Rockets (15-4) their sixth win in seven games.Shabazz Muhammad scored 20 points for the Timberwolves, who were coming off an embarrassing loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night that snapped the 76ers 17-game losing streak to start the season. Minnesota put up a much more inspired effort on Friday night, outscoring Houston 22-9 in the final 5 minutes of regulation, but couldnt finish it off.It hurt for two days, how embarrassing it was to lose to Philadelphia and all that (stuff), Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. Bottom line is they played harder than we did the whole night, but we just got lucky and won.The Wolves were down 96-83 before Zach LaVine converted a three-point play off a dunk, Corey Brewer threw down a dunk in transition and Andrew Wiggins dunk gave the Wolves a 105-101 lead with 58 seconds to play.Donatas Motiejunas scored on a hook shot and hit two free throws to tie the game with 15 seconds to play, and Chase Budinger missed a long jumper at the buzzer that wouldve won it for Minnesota.We really shouldve won, said LaVine, who scored 17 points but missed two open jumpers late in the fourth. We made some bad plays, but we grew and did a lot better than we did last game.Both teams have been racked by injuries, with the Wolves missing Ricky Rubio (ankle), Kevin Martin (wrist), Nikola Pekovic (foot), Ronny Turiaf (hip) and Mo Williams (back).The Rockets have plenty of injuries of their own. Howard has missed the last nine games because of a strained right knee, point guard Patrick Beverley is out with a hamstring strain and power forward Terrence Jones has a left leg injury.___TIP-INSRockets: Trevor Ariza had 17 points and nine rebounds in 44 minutes. ... Kostas Papanikolaou had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench, but couldnt finish the game because of a knee injury that McHale said will be evaluated on Saturday. ... It was the 16th time in 19 games that the Rockets hit at least 10 3-pointers.Timberwolves: Coach Flip Saunders said Williams would not make the trip to San Antonio for Saturdays game and will be re-evaluated when the Wolves come back home. ... All five Wolves starters scored in double figures, including 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Brewer.JOHNSONS BIG SHOTJohnsons game-winner came off a busted play, with Terry running a pick-and-roll with Motiejunas and the defence collapsing on him as he went to the basket. LaVine lost Johnson in the scramble, and he slipped by him for the layup.We got the win, a relieved Johnson said. So thats all that matters.MARTIN ON THE MENDMartin spoke to reporters Friday for the first time since he broke his right wrist against the Knicks on Nov. 19. Its a nearly identical injury to the one he had on his left wrist a few years ago, but Martin said he expects a longer, harder recovery this time around.I do remember my left, there was a lot of soreness, but I dont have a left hand anyways so I didnt really need that, Martin said, a joking reference to his proclivity to going to his right. With the right, its going to be a tougher rehab. Ill have to put in a lot more time in this one. So well see.UP NEXTRockets: Host Phoenix on Saturday.Timberwolves: At San Antonio on Saturday. Nikola Jokic Nuggets Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. Jarred Vanderbilt Nuggets Jersey .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills. http://www.nuggetsprostore.com/kids-paul-millsap-nuggets-jersey/ . Dane Dobbie and Shawn Evans each had two goals and two assists for the Roughnecks (8-5), who outscored Minnesota 6-2 in the fourth quarter after being tied through 45 minutes. Curtis Dickson scored once and set up three more for Calgary and Dan MacRae, Geoff Snider, Tor Reinholdt, Karsen Leung and Matthew Dinsdale. Alex English Nuggets Jersey . -- The court fight over NFL concussions should heat up soon as a judge in Philadelphia weighs the fairness of the proposed $765 million settlement. Paul Millsap Jersey . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers coaching search is progressing -- and aging. For the second straight day, the team met with a Los Angeles Clippers assistant about its head coaching job. Alvin Gentry is the third known candidate to interview this week with the Cavs, who this month fired Mike Brown for the second time. Cleveland executives met Tuesday with Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin, and the Cavs interviewed Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue on Thursday. Both the 39-year-old Griffin and 37-year-old Lue represent the new breed of NBA coaches: young, former players who are highly regarded but lack head-coaching experience. On Saturday, the Cavs are to meet with former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins. Like Gentry, the 60-year-old Hollins has an extensive head coaching resume and now the Cavs must decide whether to go with an unproven candidate or one who has been through the grind. Gentry, 59, could be considered a favourite because of his background with new Cavs general manager David Griffin. They worked together in Phoenix and have remained close. Griffin has said he wants to find a coach who is more offensive-minded than Brown, who improved Cleveland substantially last season but failed to develop the teams offence. Gentry is also reportedly a candidate for the Lakers opening. Its unclear if David Griffin will expand his search to find Clevelands third coach in three years. The Cavs initially dipped into the college ranks to gauge interest in high-profile coaches like Kentuckys John Calipari and Floridas Billy Donovan, and they may circle back if theyre not sold on any of the four candidates brought in this week.dddddddddddd Gentry went 335-370 during stints with Miami, the Clippers, Detroit and Suns. He spent last season -- along with Lue -- on Doc Rivers staff. Hollins guided Memphis to a 56-26 record in 2012-13, but the club decided not to renew his contract despite him leading the Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals for the first time. He won an NBA title as a player with Portland in 1977 and had been with the Memphis franchise since 1999, when the team was in Vancouver and he became interim coach after Brian Hill was fired. Hollins is 214-201 overall and 18-17 in the playoffs. His departure in Memphis has been followed with upheaval in the front office. David Griffin understands the Cavs job could be a tough sell, given the team has changed coaches in each of the past two offseasons. However, Clevelands opening recently became more appealing when the Cavs won the draft lottery for the second consecutive year and will have the No. 1 overall pick for the third time in four years. The Cavs have a young, talented roster and salary-cap space. And owner Dan Gilbert is determined to move his club back among the leagues elite. He just needs someone to lead it -- young or old. ' ' '