"For this particular road trip north toward home, Rockets coach Kevin McHale prefers to keep his eyes focused on the present, not the past.

The Rockets' game Monday night at Minneapolis will be McHale's first return to Minnesota for a game since a 15-year stretch with the Timberwolves as an executive and, on two occasions, as coach, that ended with his dismissal in 2009.

It also comes at a time the Rockets are enjoying a six-game winning streak but also are sufficiently dinged up that several players sat out a rare practice session Sunday afternoon."