MINNEAPOLIS, March 5 (UPI) -- Yao Ming and Steve Francis combined for 52 points Friday night to lead Houston to an impressive 112-109 victory over Minnesota.
Trailing by two points, the Rockets went on a 7-0 run highlighted by Francis' dunk and three-pointer that put them up for good, 101-96, with 5:33 remaining.
Minnesota narrowed the gap to 108-107, but Clarence Weatherspoon made a jumper with 1:37 remaining and the Timberwolves could draw no closer.
The Timberwolves had two chances to tie in the final seconds. Troy Hudson missed a three-pointer with four seconds left and Kevin Garnett failed to connect as the buzzer sounded following two missed free throws by Adrian Griffin.
Yao scored 27 points and Francis added 25 for the Rockets, who shot 50 percent from the field and made 26 of 28 free throws.
