"Al did everything he could," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said. "Al could have done nothing more today. He played spectacular -- 36 and 22, four assists, two blocks -- I mean, there's nothing more he could do."

The Timberwolves (17-32) dropped their fifth game in the past six outings after a hot January.

The Rockets jumped ahead 8-0 in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves had the perfect response -- a 16-0 run of their own. The streak featured three baskets on an assortment of moves by Jefferson and back-to-back Randy Foye three-pointers, forcing Houston to call timeout trailing 16-8.

"We were moving the ball, we were getting stops and attacking them," said Jefferson, who recorded his 29th double-double.

Jefferson gave Yao all he could handle early, scoring on driving layups, turnarounds and a pull-up jumper over Yao. After a three-point play with 2:24 left, he had outscored the Rockets 15-14.

"Tonight I knew I had an advantage with Yao, but he also had an advantage with me, too, so every time I touched the ball, I wanted to attack him every way I could," Jefferson said.

"I was just trying to get him on the move. He was sagging off me so much, so that's why I just started taking jumpers, and I made a couple."

Jefferson had 17 points in the first quarter on 8-of-12 shooting, and Minnesota took a 27-20 lead into the second.

The Wolves' bench ballooned the lead to 14 with a 7-0 run to start the second quarter. Mike Miller hit a driving hook and jumper, and Rashad McCants nailed a corner three for a 34-20 lead.

Minnesota pushed it to 15, but when Jefferson took a breather, the Rockets climbed back with an 8-0 run. Yao went around Kevin Love for consecutive dunks and a 39-30 deficit.

"How do you stop 7-6?" Love said. "It's tough when you're 6-9, 6-10 trying to defend 7-6, so I just tried to do the best I could.

"All you can try to do is contain that guy."

McHale called time out with 5:48 left in the half and reinserted Jefferson, but before he could go back to work, Tracy McGrady hit a long three-pointer to cut the lead to 39-35.

Jefferson took 21 points and 13 rebounds into halftime. He sank 10 of 15 shots, but the rest of the team went 11 of 32, allowing the Rockets to even the score 50-50.

"(Jefferson's) terrific," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He's having an unbelievable year. It's a shame that a guy like that is not in the All-Star Game."

The teams went back and forth in the third quarter, with eight lead exchanges and six ties through the first 10:26. The Rockets finally grabbed their biggest lead since 8-4, with 1:34 remaining.

Yao made a layup, and Rafer Alston hit a jumper and three-pointer from the left side for a 73-69 advantage. Minnesota called time, but Alston returned with a second-straight three to complete a 10-0 run.

"Yao did a great job of moving the ball out of the double-teams, and that got his guys open shots," Jefferson said.

Briefly: Jefferson's 22 rebounds tied a career high and a Toyota Center single-game record. Marcus Camby and Zach Randolph also share the mark.

Jefferson's 17 points, eight rebounds, two steals and one block in the first quarter marked the best first-quarter output against the Rockets this season. The 17 points were the most allowed to a Rockets opponent in one quarter all year.

Jefferson has 70 points, 35 rebounds and five blocks in two games against the Rockets this season.

Love went just 1 of 7 in his second game back in the starting lineup for an injured Craig Smith. He finished with four points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes. "I felt comfortable, just missed some shots tonight, and that's basically all I have to say about that," Love said.

The Timberwolves fell to 9-16 on the road and 3-7 against Southwest Division opponents after the Rockets' largest comeback win of the season.