The San Antonio Spurs got here right into a matchup with the Houston Rockets with an opportunity to safe their longest successful streak of the season. The rival Rockets performed spoiler, defeating the Spurs 114-101.
Houston was merely extra bodily, as they dominated the sport defensively. They have been additionally unstoppable within the paint. Their physicality prompted San Antonio to show the ball over 19 instances, during which the Rockets scored 28 factors off these giveaways. Outdoors of the turnovers, the Spurs struggled to search out beauty on the basket, as they shot 43.7% from the sphere and 33.3% from deep.
Offensively, the Rockets owned the paint. They outscored the Spurs 70-44 on the basket. Houston was led by their huge man, Alperen Sengun how dominated any and all Spurs on the block. He completed with 45 factors, 16 rebounds and 5 steals on 19-32 capturing. Whereas Victor Wembanyama blocked him just a few instances, Sengun went round and thru him for buckets time after time.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs in scoring with 22 factors on 9-19 capturing. Malaki Branham added in 20 factors off the bench, hitting 4 of his 7 threes.
San Antonio will head to Sacramento on Thursday for a matchup with the Kings.
Sport Notes:
Vassell scored his 3,000th level in opposition to Houston on a powerful end inside. He turns into the seventh quickest in Spurs historical past to succeed in the feat behind David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Keldon Johnson, Willie Anderson, Alvin Robertson and Sean Elliott.
It was a troublesome recreation for Wembanyama who struggled with the Rockets smothering protection. He was held to simply 10 factors whereas including in 11 rebounds and seven blocks. Houston compelled him to show the ball over 6 instances, and he shot simply 4-10 from the sphere. He began scorching, however the Rockets countered with placing an irritant like Dillon Brooks on him, and sagging Sengun off the Spurs worst shooter (normally Jeremy Sochan or Blake Wesley.) Will probably be fascinating to see how different groups method guarding the large man after watching this recreation.
Sochan and Amen Thompson acquired right into a scuffle after Sochan tripped the rookie in transition. Sochan earned a flagrant 1 and a technical foul, which implies no suspension or wonderful might be coming for him.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich advised reporters after the sport: “That’s what you name a royal ass whooping, proper there. They deserve plenty of credit score. They have been bodily from the get-go ‘until the tip of the sport. They put us in mud and we didn’t reply very effectively and also you’ve acquired the end result.”
