Spurs Hold off Rockets
HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets put forth a frantic finish in the final 98 seconds; but, the valiant effort proved to be too little too late as the Rockets lost 92 to 84 to the San Antonio Spurs Friday night in front of the fourth sell-out crowd (18,164) of the season.
The Rockets trailed the Spurs 86 - 76 with 1:38 left in the ball game; but, Aaron Brooks converted a three-point play to start an 8-0 Rockets' run to pull within two points and force the Spurs to call a time-out and regroup.
A wide open Richard Jefferson (off the Spurs' in bounds play) drove the baseline and attempted a reverse slam dunk; but, was fouled by Rockets' forward Carl Landry. Jefferson made both free throws to give the Rockets a four point deficit (88-84) with 33.4 seconds remaining.
Brooks missed a 17-foot jumper; and, the Rockets (8-8) got no closer as the Spurs (8-6) picked up the hard fought win.
The Rockets led the Spurs 46 to 44 at halftime; however, the Rockets began the third quarter missing 17 consecutive field goal attempts. Most of the missed shots were good looks at the basket that simply did not fall through the net.
"It's a tough loss. We had a stretch in the third quarter where we could not make a shot," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman after the game. "I thought we were getting, especially early in the quarter, good looks."
The Rockets scored a season-low 12 points in the third period and trailed the Spurs 68-58 at the end of three.
"Houston came back in the fourth quarter," said Spurs head coach Greg Popovich. "And, we were able to hold them off for the win."
Despite allowing the Spurs to shoot 50% from the field (7 for 14) in the fourth quarter, the Rockets forced seven Spurs' turnovers to stay within striking distance.
Five Rockets players scored in double-figures. Luis Scola scored a team-high 18 points (plus a team-high 12 rebounds) while Trevor Ariza added 17 points (only 6 for 21 from the field) and 11 boards.
Tim Duncan (a.k.a Clockwork) scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while teammate Antonio McDyess added a season-high 15 points (6 for 11 from the field) and a game-high (and season-high) 14 rebounds.
"Antonio is a big time professional and he only cares about winning. He's a big plus for us," Popovich added.
Unlike the defeatist attitude the Rockets displayed in their 31-point blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks Wendesday night, the Rockets played much better defense and were more aggressive and physical versus the Spurs.
"Give our guys credit because they just hung in there," said Rick Adelman. "We kept talking about 'we are not scoring; but, we have to keep defending. We have to stay close to give ourselves a run.' And, we did that; but, we got down too much to this team; and, they're a hard team to come back on."
Rockets' forward Shane Battier added, "Defensively we were better. We were better defensively. I think our offense let us down tonight. Our inability to make shots let us down tonight."
Starting with Sunday's game at Oklahoma City, the Rockets hit the road for the next four games before returning to Houston to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, December 9.
The Rockets trailed the Spurs 86 - 76 with 1:38 left in the ball game; but, Aaron Brooks converted a three-point play to start an 8-0 Rockets' run to pull within two points and force the Spurs to call a time-out and regroup.
A wide open Richard Jefferson (off the Spurs' in bounds play) drove the baseline and attempted a reverse slam dunk; but, was fouled by Rockets' forward Carl Landry. Jefferson made both free throws to give the Rockets a four point deficit (88-84) with 33.4 seconds remaining.
Brooks missed a 17-foot jumper; and, the Rockets (8-8) got no closer as the Spurs (8-6) picked up the hard fought win.
The Rockets led the Spurs 46 to 44 at halftime; however, the Rockets began the third quarter missing 17 consecutive field goal attempts. Most of the missed shots were good looks at the basket that simply did not fall through the net.
"It's a tough loss. We had a stretch in the third quarter where we could not make a shot," said Rockets head coach Rick Adelman after the game. "I thought we were getting, especially early in the quarter, good looks."
The Rockets scored a season-low 12 points in the third period and trailed the Spurs 68-58 at the end of three.
"Houston came back in the fourth quarter," said Spurs head coach Greg Popovich. "And, we were able to hold them off for the win."
Despite allowing the Spurs to shoot 50% from the field (7 for 14) in the fourth quarter, the Rockets forced seven Spurs' turnovers to stay within striking distance.
Five Rockets players scored in double-figures. Luis Scola scored a team-high 18 points (plus a team-high 12 rebounds) while Trevor Ariza added 17 points (only 6 for 21 from the field) and 11 boards.
Tim Duncan (a.k.a Clockwork) scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while teammate Antonio McDyess added a season-high 15 points (6 for 11 from the field) and a game-high (and season-high) 14 rebounds.
"Antonio is a big time professional and he only cares about winning. He's a big plus for us," Popovich added.
Unlike the defeatist attitude the Rockets displayed in their 31-point blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks Wendesday night, the Rockets played much better defense and were more aggressive and physical versus the Spurs.
"Give our guys credit because they just hung in there," said Rick Adelman. "We kept talking about 'we are not scoring; but, we have to keep defending. We have to stay close to give ourselves a run.' And, we did that; but, we got down too much to this team; and, they're a hard team to come back on."
Rockets' forward Shane Battier added, "Defensively we were better. We were better defensively. I think our offense let us down tonight. Our inability to make shots let us down tonight."
Starting with Sunday's game at Oklahoma City, the Rockets hit the road for the next four games before returning to Houston to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, December 9.
posted by Kris G @ 11:26 PM
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