HOUSTON -- James Harden paced a balanced scoring attack as the Houston Rockets set an NBA season record for 3-pointers while outscoring the Minnesota Timberwolves 142-130 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.
Harden paired 24 points with 10 assists as the Rockets (42-18) finished 22 of 58 from behind the arc. It marked their eighth game this season with at least 20 treys, breaking the mark set by the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16.
Harden finished 5 of 11 on 3s. Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon hit four treys each while posting 18 and 14 points, respectively. Trevor Ariza added three 3-pointers and 15 points. Nene and Lou Williams chipped in 11 and 17 points off the bench. Eight Rockets scored in double figures.
That collective effort offset monster performances from Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (37 points, 22 rebounds) and forward Andrew Wiggins (30 points).
Minnesota (23-36) finished with a 58-31 rebounding advantage and shot 52.1 percent from the floor, but its inability to defend the arc proved its undoing.
Despite the wire-to-wire victory, the Rockets labored fending off the Timberwolves. Houston grabbed a double-digit lead almost instantly at 14-4 only for Minnesota to surge back within six points.
Behind its second unit, Minnesota cut the deficit to 41-40 with 8:41 left in the second quarter before the Rockets responded with a 16-0 run that included four consecutive 3-pointers by four different Rockets: Sam Dekker, Gordon, Williams and Beverley.
When the Timberwolves clawed within 73-70 in the third quarter, Harden came alive, scoring 15 points in the quarter as Houston pushed its lead back to 17 points on back-to-back 3s from Harden.
The Rockets scored 40 points in the third quarter, hitting 7 of 13 from deep while taking a 106-88 lead into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Rockets G Patrick Beverley was initially announced as a pregame scratch by coach Mike D'Antoni but later declared himself fit to play. Beverley is dealing with left groin tightness and finished with 15 points, seven assists and three steals in 30 minutes. ... Timberwolves F Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points and set a franchise record with his 17th consecutive 20-point game. Wiggins shared the mark with F Kevin Garnett, a 10-time All-Star with the Timberwolves. ... Minnesota committed a season-high 25 turnovers.