How do Rockets match up against Timberwolves?

HOUSTON – The Rockets will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in a best-of-seven first round series in the NBA playoffs.

So how did Houston do against the T-wolves this season? Let's take a look:

Rockets swept up

Houston went 4-0, with home court victories on Jan. 18 and Feb. 23, and road wins on Feb. 13 and March 18.

Rockets offense was on fire

Houston average 122 points per game against the T-wolves, with an average margin of victory of 15 points.  The Rockets averaged 50.1% shooting from the floor in the four games. Strange stat: Three of the wins were by exactly 18 points.

Beard goes off

James Harden scored only 10 points in the January game, but he was returning from missing seven games with an injury. In the other three wins, Harden averaged 33.0 points per game.

Bad blood?

In the last regular season meeting between the two teams in March, Gerald Green was ejected in the fourth quarter for coming to Chris Paul's defense after Minnesota's Gorgui Dieng pushed Paul down after a foul. 

The two teams were quickly separated and nothing else physical came of the incident. Green was ejected from the game, but Dieng was not. 

Paul offered to pay Green's $25,000 fine.

Playoff history

This is the second time these teams have met in the playoffs. Their other meeting came in Minnesota's first trip in 1997, when the Timberwolves were swept in three games.

That Houston team was led by Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley, and the Wolves featured Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury and Tom Gugliotta.