HOUSTON -- Aaron Brooks had played just 15 minutes in his last six games and acknowledged he was a little shaky when he entered Houstons game against Minnesota late in the first quarter. It didnt take him long to settle down. Brooks scored a season-high 26 points to pick up the slack for the injured James Harden, and the Rockets beat the Timberwolves 112-101 on Saturday night. "When your All-Star goes out it takes a collective group to get it done," Brooks said. "Thats what we did -- everybody. Dwight (Howard) gave up a little bit of himself in scoring, passed it to others and we got the job done." Brooks, who entered the game averaging 2.8 points, had a big second quarter, making four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points. He finished with six 3-pointers. It was his most points since scoring 28 for the Rockets against Utah in April of 2010. Coach Kevin McHale talked about the challenge of Brooks stepping in when he hadnt been getting a lot of playing time. "Its very difficult," McHale said. "His second quarter was special. He really had it going. He was making shots. Aaron did a great job tonight." The Rockets led throughout, and Omri Casspi, Jeremy Lin and Brooks made consecutive 3-pointers in a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter and extend the lead to 91-74. Harden, who leads the Rockets with 24.2 points per game, sat out with a sore left foot. Lin started in his place and scored 19, but it was Brooks who shined. "(Brooks) was amazing," Howard said. "Shot the ball well, played great defence ... (he) was a big reason why we won the game." Kevin Love had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and Corey Brewer scored 22 for the Timberwolves. "When you try to make runs they kept hitting 3s," Love said. "We showed fight, but in the end its really tough when the first three shots of the fourth quarter are from 3 and they hit three in a row." Brooks, whos in his second stint with the Rockets, is a crowd favourite and the home fans cheered wildly every time he entered the game. Brooks also had five assists, four rebounds and a steal. "Well, I coached him, so Ive seen him do that a lot," said Minnesota coach Rick Adelman, who coached Brooks in Houston from 2008-11. "It doesnt surprise me." Patrick Beverley had 17 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers, and Terrence Jones added 18 points and had 10 rebounds for Houston. Howard had 11 points and led the team with 13 rebounds. McHale loved the balanced scoring effort with Harden out, but was unhappy that his team had 23 turnovers to just 10 by the Timberwolves. "I told our guys we have to play more efficiently and a little bit smarter," McHale said. "Weve got to create more space for each other on the floor so we can attack." The Rockets led 82-74 entering the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves used a 15-4 spurt in the third quarter, fueled by three 3-pointers, to cut Houstons lead to 65-57. Love made a 3-pointer before a turnover by Chandler Parsons that led to a dunk by Brewer capped the run. An exasperated McHale put his hands on his head as he watched Brewers dunk and quickly called a timeout. McHales short pep talk must have gotten Houstons attention. The Rockets responded with a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 75-62 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Rockets led by eight points late in the second quarter before using a 9-2 run thanks to three straight 3-pointers, including two by Brooks, to stretch the lead to 52-37. Minnesota scored five quick points on a dunk by Kevin Martin and a 3-pointer from Brewer to close the gap. But Lin sunk a 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend Houstons lead to 55-42 at halftime. NOTES: McHale said Harden visited a doctor on Saturday and they are going to change his treatment plan. He said Harden will likely miss Mondays game as well. ... Lin had a bump on his forehead and was holding ice on it after the game. It was unclear how he was injured and he wasnt available to reporters after the game because he was seeing a doctor. ... Also out for the Rockets on Saturday were Ronnie Brewer, who has a strained right calf, and Greg Smith, who has a sprained right knee. ... It was Howards ninth double-double of the season. ... Ricky Rubio had eight assists for Minnesota. Jim Kelly Womens Jersey .Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. LeSean McCoy Bills Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-jim-kelly-bills-jersey/ . - Jordan Addesis shootout goal helped the Plymouth Whalers to a 3-2 win over the Sault Ste. Zay Jones Womens Jersey . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. Matt Milano Youth Jersey . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster.England captain Alastair Cook was comprehensively bowled by Mohammed Shami with the ball not only knocking back off stump but breaking it in two! With India having made 455 in their first innings in Vizag, England would have been keen to make a steady start to their reply on a pitch that was already beginning to break up on day two. India vs England November 19, 2016, 3:45am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass However, they lost the captain early on and in a rather dramatic fashion as Shami, having set Cook up with a couple of out-swingers before getting one to nip back between bat and pad that thumped into off stump with such force that it snapped the top third clean off. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price It was a brilliant delivery from the Indian seamer with Cook doing very little wrong but unable to keep it out, heading back to the pavilion having made just two.dddddddddddd Alastair Cook lost the top of off stump to a beauty form Mohammed Shami That was an absolute beauty to Cook - one of the balls of the series so far, of the year, Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.It is hard to argue with that and it certainly led to one of the most eye-catching dismissals of the year.Live coverage of the second Test between India and England continues on Sky Sports 2 and across selected mobile devices, where you can follow the action on our over-by-over commentary and watch in-play clips.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: WATCH: Day two highlights Scorecard Over-by-over Live cricket on Sky ' ' '