Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale has praised his side's performance during their away victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA on Monday.

Center Dwight Howard bagged 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets as they ran out 107-89 winners at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

"They hurt us on our turnovers and second-chance points," NBA's official website quotes the 56-year-old as saying. "Once we got that under control we moved it pretty well and Dwight did a really nice job in the post, double-teaming and moving it out.

"He had open shots and he was really facilitating. A lot of hockey assists for him tonight.

"When we got our movement and our pace up and got some stops, we played really well and held them to 31 in the second half."

The Rockets are currently fifth in the Western Conference.