Free throws help lift Wolves http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16407016.htm A point of emphasis led to an astounding 26-point difference at the foul line for the Timberwolves in their overtime victory against Houston on Sunday. "We are looking at being aggressive and attacking the basket," coach Dwane Casey said after the Wolves made 34 of 40 free throws, compared with 12 of 19 for the Rockets. "We knew that with (7-foot-2 center Dikembe) Mutombo in there, we weren't going to be able to get all the way to the hole, but we were going to be able to attack their feet. "They do a great job of slashing and hitting and trying to hit the ball coming in there. We wanted to attack the paint." That became more important against Houston, which leads the NBA in lowest opponents' shooting percentage (42 percent entering the game). The Wolves shot just 40.5 percent from the field Sunday. "We did a good job of going up against that and scoring 103 against their good defense," Casey said. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy saw it a different way, especially after watching Minnesota get 15 second-half opportunities (12 for 15) from the line in regulation to just two for the Rockets (2 for 2). "That is obviously problematic," Van Gundy said. "We scored more points than them in the paint, so we were obviously going to the basket." Houston outscored the Wolves 40-22 in the lane. T-Hass on T-Mac: Tracy McGrady got his 30 points (actually 31), but make no mistake: Trenton Hassell and the Wolves got the better of McGrady for most of Sunday's game. McGrady, who has scored at least 30 points in five straight games, was fresh off a season-high 44 points against Utah (on 14-of-31 shooting) before Hassell got in his face Sunday, with Kevin Garnett helping out. As a result, McGrady made just 4 of 12 shots in the first half and 6 of 19 through three quarters. It took him 29 shots to get his 31 points, and his 41 percent shooting was by far his lowest in his five-game 30-plus streak. "Trenton Hassell made McGrady work for every point he made," Casey said. Loose balls: Hassell also provided some much-sought offensive help, reaching double figures (14 points) in scoring for the third game in a row. His first-quarter aggressiveness, in particular, was part of a broader game plan to counter McGrady. "Trenton's playing well for us right now," Garnett said. "He's one of the keys and the reasons why we're winning. He's definitely been aggressive these last couple of wins. In order for us to go forward, we're going to need that." Briefly: For the second game in a row, the Wolves had three players record double-doubles: Garnett (26 points, 13 rebounds), center Mark Blount (21 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Mike James (12 points, 10 assists). ‧ After three overtime games in five days, the Timberwolves get today off before resuming their practice schedule Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. ‧ Final note on McGrady: The two-time NBA scoring champ has shot just 32.8 percent (21 for 64) in three games against Minnesota this season — and 44.6 against everyone else. The Wolves have won two of those three games. --

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