James Harden recorded his sixth consecutive 30-point effort and the Houston Rockets earned their first victory without Chris Paul, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 108-101 on Saturday at Toyota Center.
Behind a stellar performance from DeMar DeRozan, the Spurs erased a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit and led 97-96 on consecutive 3-pointers from Derrick White and Rudy Gay, the latter coming with 3:03 to play.
But Harden answered with a 3-pointer 24 seconds later and, after DeRozan countered with a driving layup, Eric Gordon sank a 3 following critical offensive rebounds from Clint Capela and P.J. Tucker.
Harden added a step-back 3 over White and three free throws after drawing the foul from White on the ensuing possession as Houston snapped the Spurs' three-game winning streak.
DeRozan scored 12 of his 28 points in a scintillating third quarter, a frame in which the Rockets shot 9 of 13 on 3-pointers. LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points for the Spurs while Gay had 13.
Harden paired 39 points with 10 assists. Capela dominated on the interior for the Rockets with 21 points and a season-high 23 rebounds. Gordon scored 18 while Gerald Green added 15 off the bench on 4-of-4 3-point shooting in the third quarter.
Harden made his intentions clear in the first quarter, hoisting 10 shots in an attempt to fill the void left by Paul. The Rockets were particularly assertive from behind the arc, shooting 6 of 14 on 3s to stave off what was another strong tandem performance from Aldridge and DeRozan.
But in the second quarter, the offense fell apart for both teams. The Rockets didn't score until the 6:44 mark when Harden converted a challenging driving layup crossing the paint from right to left. That snapped the Spurs' 10-0 run and cut the deficit to 34-30. Houston managed to shoot a paltry 5 for 21 in the period but the Spurs failed to take advantage, going 7 for 22.
The third quarter featured another swing of the shooting pendulum, with DeRozan offsetting the Rockets' torrid perimeter shooting almost singlehandedly via determined forays to the rim.
--Field Level Media
source: news.abs-cbn.com
LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 33 points and added 14 rebounds Friday night for the San Antonio Spurs, who never trailed in beating the host Indiana Pacers, 111-100 in Indianapolis.
The Spurs snapped a two-game losing streak with just their third win in the last 10 games.
The Pacers have lost two straight, both of which they have played without star Victor Oladipo, who has missed three consecutive contests with a sore right knee.
The double-double was the 11th of the season for Aldridge. Rudy Gay also had a double-double for the Spurs with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan (16 points), Patty Mills (15 points) and Bryn Forbes (13 points) also scored at least 10 points apiece for San Antonio.
Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who were led in scoring by Bojan Bogdanovic (21 points).
Cory Joseph added 18 points while Thaddeus Young finished with 12 points and Aaron Holiday and T.J. Leaf each chipped in with 11 points.
The Spurs scored the first six points of the game, the final four of which were collected by Aldridge.
San Antonio led by as many as 13 (25-12) in the first quarter before the Pacers went on an 11-1 run in which Joseph scored five points.
A Bogdanovic jumper closed the gap to four points at 45-41 with 2:04 left in the second quarter, but Indiana got no closer as the Spurs ended the half on a 9-4 run to take a 54-45 lead into the locker room.
The Spurs embarked upon a 9-0 run early in the third quarter, a stretch that included a layup by Aldridge which gave them a double-digit lead for good at 58-47.
San Antonio extended its lead to 20 for the first time on a layup by Mills with 5:44 left.
The Pacers stirred in the fourth quarter, when a dunk by Leaf closed the Spurs lead to 91-80.
But Gay (five points) and Forbes (a 3-pointer) combined for an 8-0 run and San Antonio was never threatened again.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
DeMar DeRozan, who led all players with 34 points, scored six points in the final 1:43 of overtime as the host San Antonio Spurs held off the Dallas Mavericks 113-108 on Monday night.
DeRozan outdueled Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic, who scored a career-high 31 points. Doncic scored eight consecutive points during a late fourth-quarter run that helped the Mavericks force overtime.
LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 20 points for San Antonio, which received 15 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and six steals from Rudy Gay. DeRozan led the Spurs with nine assists.
Dallas got 22 points from Dennis Smith Jr. Harrison Barnes added 18 points, and DeAndre Jordan had eight points and 18 rebounds.
Showcasing balanced scoring, San Antonio led 53-45 at halftime. Aldridge paced the Spurs with 14 points, DeRozan added 13 points and Gay nine.
DeRozan added six first-half assists as the Spurs, who led 20-18 after one quarter.
Dallas, seeking its first road win of the year, closed the half with a 5-0 run behind Doncic's 3-pointer.
The Mavericks continued their hot shooting to open the second half. Barnes hit two driving baskets and Doncic buried a 3-pointer for a 66-59 lead.
After San Antonio sliced the deficit to 66-65 on 3-pointers by Patty Mills and Davis Bertans, Dallas pushed back out to a 71-65 lead on Doncic's two free throws and floating jumper.
San Antonio, however, regained the lead at 76-71 on Marco Belinelli's eight points on two 3-pointers and a jumper and Bryn Forbes' 3-pointer.
A back-and-forth fourth quarter featured Dallas pulling within 85-83, but San Antonio replied to lead 89-83 on DeRozan's turnaround fadeaway with 7:05 remaining, prompting a Mavericks timeout.
Dallas countered with a 9-2 run and clawed back into the lead at 92-91 when Doncic buried a pull-up jumper with 4:55 to go.
San Antonio retook the lead at 94-92 on Mills' 3-pointer, but Doncic's tip-in made it 94-94. After Doncic and DeRozan traded baskets to make it 96-all, Doncic answered with two free throws for a 98-96 lead with 2:44 remaining.
Mills' layup tied the score again, but Smith drilled a 3-pointer to make it 101-98 with 1:30 left. DeRozan's finger roll with 1:13 to go and then two free throws with 39.1 seconds to play put the Spurs in front at 102-101.
Smith had a chance to win the game in regulation but made only 1 of 2 free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining. DeRozen's jumper missed at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 21 points and Kawhi Leonard also hit for 21 as the Spurs blew past Phoenix 103-89 on Friday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, defeating the Suns for the third time in three meetings this season.
A 17-8 Spurs run over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, expanded an eight-point lead to 97-78 and turned a game that had been very competitive through 36 minutes into a runaway.
Bryn Forbes added 16 points for San Antonio (27-13), while Pau Gasol hit for 15 and Davis Bertans poured in 12.
Devin Booker paced the Suns (15-26) with 21 points. Marquese Chriss added 12 points, Josh Jackson scored 11, and Alex Len and Troy Daniels tallied 10 points each for Phoenix. Tyson Chandler led all players with 12 rebounds.
San Antonio led 49-42 after a first half that featured four ties and eight lead changes. The Spurs held as much as a nine-point advantage, garnered on a floater by Forbes at the 2:10 mark of the second quarter.
Leonard and Forbes each had 14 points at halftime to lead the scoring, while Booker led the Suns with 12 first-half points.
Things heated up in the final minutes of the third quarter as Phoenix used strong inside play, offensive rebounding and two baskets by Len to claw to within 72-69 with 1:24 to play in the period. Ginobili responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to create a bit of a cushion, and, after a 35-foot 3-pointer by Booker, added another from long distance to stake San Antonio to an 80-72 lead heading into the fourth.
San Antonio shot 47.1 percent from the field and sank 11 of 30 3-point tries. Phoenix made 42.2 percent of its field goal attempts and was 7 of 30 from the 3-point range.
Spurs team officials announced about an hour and a half prior to tipoff that forward LaMarcus Aldridge would be held out of the game for rest. Aldridge led San Antonio in scoring in 30 of the 38 games he has played this season.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
