The Rockets open a four-game road trip on Saturday night when they visit the reeling Minnesota Timberwolves, looking to avoid their 12th straight loss.

Houston (17-9) has one of the best records in the Western Conference, but it took the Rockets a while to find their rhythm in Friday night's 107-96 win over Sacramento, which had lost 14 of its previous 17.

The teams were tied at 55 at halftime before Houston eventually escaped with its sixth victory in eight games.

"I feel like we're making great strides to try to establish what we want to do offensively," Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said. "We have shooters on this team, we have creators on this team."

The Rockets may have an easier time finding their groove against a Timberwolves team that hasn't even been competitive lately.

Minnesota (4-21) has dropped 11 straight since edging Oklahoma City 105-103 on Nov. 28, and nine of those losses - including the last five - have been by at least 10 points.

"Definitely concerned with that, because you never want to lose by a large margin," point guard Randy Foye said after Minnesota recorded a season-low point total in a 93-70 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday. "We've just got to go out there and ... keep believing and keep fighting."

That defeat also dropped the Timberwolves to 2-10 at the Target Center - where they've lost seven straight - and 0-6 under coach Kevin McHale, who took over for the fired Randy Wittman on Dec. 8.

As bad as things have been lately, Minnesota's players seem to think they can turn things around if they can start getting some shots to fall. They're shooting a league-worst 42.6 percent from the field, including 41.2 percent during their current skid.

"We've got to make shots. No question," guard Mike Miller said. "We've just got to do a better job of moving the ball and getting open 3s. That'll help a lot. I think right now we've had some open ones we haven't made. That's a reflection of things. Just got to make shots. There's no secret behind it, really."

Better shooting could help the Timberwolves prevent their current losing streak from becoming the longest in franchise history. Minnesota lost a team-record 16 straight in 1992, and had another 16-game skid in 1994 that spanned two seasons.

Despite a daunting schedule that also includes meetings with San Antonio and Orlando over the next week, McHale doesn't sound concerned about the potential of a team-record slide.

"The guys have been pretty good," he said. "Of course you get down in games when you're missing shots. There's a frustration level that comes in, but that's human nature. I just think we need to get ourselves in some situations where we're making some shots feeling a little bit better about ourselves. Get some wins, and things change quick."

The Timberwolves lost all three games against the Rockets last season, including a 92-86 home defeat on Feb. 4. McGrady had 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists in that game, and averaged 24.5 points, 8.5 boards and 8.0 assists in two games against Minnesota in 2007-08.