There were flagrant fouls and technical fouls, one full-bore temper tantrum and untold numbers of smaller fits. It was a game the governor of Minnesota would love and seemed to -- until the end.

But just when Steve Francis' temper was boiling over in old Jesse Ventura form, the guard saw panic in the Timberwolves' eyes. With the Wolves rattled, the Rockets used a stunning 62-second closing run to earn a 96-95 victory Wednesday night before 18,101 in the Target Center.

The win not only gave the Rockets their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 8 and their first sweep of a back-to-back this season, it was their third consecutive fourth-quarter comeback against one of the presumed Western Conference playoff teams.