James Harden had 34 points and 12 assists, and Houston held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat Minnesota 129-120 for the Rockets’ 26th win in 28 games.

The West’s top team led by as many as 25 before the Wolves, holding on for dear life in a tightening playoff race, pulled within five in the fourth.

The loss dropped the Wolves into the eighth playoff spot after they started the day in a three-way tie for fifth.