MINNEAPOLIS: James Harden had 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-108 on Tuesday night for their ninth straight victory.
Ryan Anderson scored 21 points off the bench as the Rockets (43-13) snapped Minnesota’s 13-game home winning streak and pulled within a half-game of the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA. Houston has won for the 16 of its last 18 games.
The Rockets made 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, when they scored 42 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 12 rebounds in Minnesota’s first home loss since Dec. 16 against Phoenix. Jeff Teague added 25 points and eight assists, and Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 11 points after starting 0 for 6 from the floor.
Minnesota led by as many as 13 in the first quarter before Houston went on a run to take a four-point halftime lead. Trailing by 11, the Rockets used a 15-3 run to take their first lead at 35-34.
Houston used 3-pointers to keep Minnesota at bay throughout the game and then to pull away late. Anderson scored 12 in the fourth quarter, all from 3-point range.
He hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the period to push Houston’s lead back to double digits and hit two more later in the quarter. The Rockets as a team connected on 10-of-16 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone.
Minnesota was just 6 of 23 from deep. Harden and Anderson each hit as many shots from behind the arc as the Wolves did as a team.
Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins missed his first 12 field goal attempts. Wiggins entered Tuesday’s game shooting 55.6 percent in his previous four games. He finished 2 for 14.
James Harden scores 34 as Houston Rockets beat Minnesota Timberwolves 126-108
James Harden scores 34 as Houston Rockets beat Minnesota Timberwolves 126-108
Inaugural Kidzink Pearl Cup wraps up at Dubai Offshore Club
- Sailors aged 8-18 competed in the Optimist Coached, Optimist, ILCA 4, 29er and RS Feva classes
DUBAI: The inaugural Kidzink Pearl Cup wrapped up in Dubai after welcoming more than 100 youth sailors from 17 countries for one of the Middle East’s first international open youth sailing regattas.
Held from Dec. 15-21 at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club with the support of Dubai Sports Council, the Kidzink Pearl Cup brought together sailors aged 8-18 to compete in the Optimist Coached, Optimist, ILCA 4, 29er and RS Feva classes.
Backed by global educational design company Kidzink as title sponsor and strategic partner, the event combined four days of competitive racing with ideal windy conditions, with three days of Olympic-level coaching delivered by an international coaching team, giving young sailors the chance to train and race in competitive and challenging conditions alongside peers from different countries and sailing cultures.
The young sailors also took part in interactive onshore sessions developed with Kidzink’s research team, with the event putting the focus on leadership, inclusivity and clean-water awareness.
Charlotte Borghesi, founder and general manager of Kidzink, said: “The energy throughout the week was incredible. You could see learning happening in real time, friendships forming on the dock and young sailors growing in confidence every day.
The Kidzink Pearl Cup is about more than racing, it’s about creating an environment where young people feel inspired, supported and excited to learn.”
A two-time world champion sailor herself, Borghesi brings first-hand experience to the event, having made history in 2023 as the first female helmswoman to win the SB20 World Championship, followed by her team’s victory at the SB20 Women’s World Sailing Championship in Singapore in 2025.
Alongside the racing program, sailors took part in Kidzink’s interactive learning sessions. The UAE sessions built on work first piloted at the Kidzink-supported 29er Class European and World Championships earlier this year.
Local talent featured strongly throughout the week, with members of the DOSC racing squad lining up alongside international competitors. Among them were 14-year-old Chloe Montanet and 12-year-old Edward West.
In the Optimist Coached fleet, first place was claimed by Lev Ryashin (RUS), followed by Matteo Bertucci (ITA) in second and Gonzalo Montero (ESP) in third.
In the Optimist class Jean-Luc Herve (UAE) topped the podium, followed by Xuan Ya Tong (KSA) in second, and Miquel Rossello-Collinge (ESP) rounding out the podium.
The ILCA 4 title went to Fynley Britton (GBR), with Indraneel Roy (IND), and Katyayani Kaushik (IND) completing the podium.
In the 29er fleet, Dominic West and Fynley Britton took top honours, followed by Lily Britton and Matteo Gardenghi in second place with Noah Fisk and Alex Simmonds third.
The RS Feva Coached podium consisted of Ameya Rahul Nair and Arya Khanna in first, Miles Wilson-Brown and Noah Kahlon second, and Finlay Henderson and Rayan Abdallah third.
“Our work in sailing reflects our broader mission to design and create educational environments and experiences where young people thrive,” Borghesi added. “The Kidzink Pearl Cup is just the beginning of much more to come.”
