For the 4th time this season, rivals of Texas, the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, met at AT&T Center Saturday night. This year the Rockets beat the Spurs 3 times (2 in preseason, 1 in regular season), and were hoping to continue that winning streak against them in this game. However, the Spurs have had enough losing to the Rockets; for the first time, this season won with a final score of 103-91.
At the beginning of the game, it looked like the Rockets (4-7 after a loss) would come out and dominate the San Antonio team; they headed into the second quarter leading by 9, the score at the time being 30-21. The Spurs (7-6 after a win) overcame this, though, and went back onto the court with more confidence and heart. In the second quarter, San Antonio put up 29 points, taking the lead against Houston, who only managed 23. At halftime, the Rockets were only up by 3 points, 53-50.
By the time the 3rd quarter came around, the Spurs had taken control from there. They immediately began throwing up baskets, earning 25 points and taking the lead from the Rockets they had at the half, overcoming them by 3 and remained on top for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Rockets couldn’t come back and match the same mentality as their rival and fell behind and could only gain 19 in the third.
Nothing was going to stop the Spurs from winning this game. They took care of business and secured their win by putting up 28 final points to the Rockets 19. With this victory under their belt, San Antonio moves to 7th in their conference, and Houston drops to 14th.
While Houston didn’t get the result they were hoping for, 3 players stood out and kept their group alive in the game. Christian Wood played for 41 minutes and tied Mason Jones (35 minutes) for the leading scorer, each gaining 24 points apiece. Just behind them was Ben McLemore, with 21 and 38 minutes of participation. The Spurs kept the ball coming to Demar Derozan, who cliched 24 points. Dejounte Murray was next in line with 18.
Team stats looked pretty good for the Spurs too. They achieved an 18-23 free throw completion (just over 78%), hit 58 rebounds, and only had 12 turnovers. Houston didn’t do too bad either, obtaining 17-27 free throws (63%), 51 rebounds, and 20 assists. .
Next up
The Spurs travel to compete against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Arena on Monday, January 18th. The teams tip-off at 3:00 ET and broadcasted on NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Southwest, and NBC Sports Northwest.
Houston will go up against the Chicago Bulls on the road, playing at the United Center. The game will begin at 8:00 ET on Monday, January 18th. The game will be broadcasted on NBA League Pass, NBC Sports Chicago, and AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
