Rockets on wrong end of Wolves' Love, again

HOUSTON His career had been the picture of impeccable ascent up until the moment Timberwolves forward Kevin Love surrendered to his inner rage and stomped the face of Rockets forward Luis Scola on Feb. 4. His pittance had been paid via a league-issued two-game suspension, but Love realized that only he could close the book on this chapter of his basketball narrative. The stage was his on Friday night and, with the Toyota Center crowd feebly showing their animus for his unsavory behavior with listless booing, Love turned the page emphatically. Love capped a season series of pulverizing performances against the Rockets with a breathtaking effort that added insult to injured egos, carrying the Timberwolves to a 111-98 victory with a fourth quarter as captivating as any produced by an opponent this shortened season. After the Rockets (17-14) used grit and guile to slice a 17-point deficit to 95-94 with 5:56 left, Love administered the knockout blow with eight consecutive points. For effect he showcased the versatility of his game, confidently stroking a pair of 3-pointers before converting an offensive rebound into a second-chance basket that rebuilt the lead to 103-94. For Rockets fans looking for Love to falter under the weight of his own misdeed, the opposite scenario unfolded. He was brilliant, recording game highs in points (33) and rebounds (17) as the Timberwolves (15-16) captured the season series by winning the final three matchups. "More than anything (I wanted) to just put it behind me," Love said of the stomping incident. "I was in front of the Houston fans and they know how I play 99.9 percent of the other games. I happened to make a mistake and I learned from it. It won't happen again. "Luckily we can move on. I think they see how I played tonight." That Love was contrite without getting any comeuppance surely left Rockets fans seething. That he slapped an exclamation point on his overwhelming mismatch against Scola was akin to salting their wounds. In concert with center Nikola Pekovic (a career-high 30 points, 12 rebounds), Love controlled the interior so thoroughly that Rockets coach Kevin McHale opted for an unorthodox small lineup to start the fourth. Scola and centers Samuel Dalembert and Jordan Hill had been rendered ineffective, prompting McHale to defend Love with rookie small forward Chandler Parsons when guard Courtney Lee wasn't fronting Love on the block. Forward Patrick Patterson checked Pekovic. That strategy worked for a spell. The Rockets opened the period with a 17-4 flourish (Love scored both Minnesota baskets in the paint, incidentally), forcing five Timberwolves turnovers while Love's teammates went 0-for-4 during that span. Parsons capped the flurry with a left-handed layup, reenergizing a crowd that'd given the Rockets up for dead. Love responded by drilling a 3-pointer. After Goran Dragic missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Love answered again from behind the arc. When Love turned an errant Pekovic layup into a basket, the Rockets were finished, their flickering hopes stomped unrepentantly by Love. Parsons was locked into an undesirable defensive position. He attempted to help slow Pekovic as he rolled to the basket for Pekovic had ravaged the Rockets with his bruising forays to the rim. But Parsons wasn't swift enough to both jam Pekovic and close on Love, not with Love so quick with his release of the ball once he secured the pass. "He's a great player," Parsons said. "He can do it all. He's big, he's physical, he's strong, he's got a knack for the ball, he can step out and he's really worked on his jump shot. He can do it all. He's a great player." The reiteration was necessary. Last season Love led the league in rebounding averaging 15.2 per game. He entered Friday averaging 25.5 points (fourth in the NBA) and 14.1 rebounds (second behind Magic center Dwight Howard). This week Love was invited to participate in the Foot Locker 3-Point Contest. He's shooting 36.2 percent on treys. He closed the season series against the Rockets averaging 31.5 points (on 65.2 percent shooting) and 13.3 rebounds. When the pressure mounted on Friday night, Love made everyone forget his past missteps. "Sometimes it's hard to figure out how you're going to get him the ball," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "We haven't practiced it much; they're fronting him and Pek is not used to being at the free-throw line. "We were struggling a little bit there, so him stepping up and knocking those down where there wasn't a hesitation, that's why he's in the 3-point contest. He's been doing that all year." Follow me on Twitter at moisekapenda