Spurs 104, Rockets 94
HOUSTON - Forward Kahwi Leonard scored 27 points while his frontcourt counterpart LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in a double-double as the San Antonio Spurs capped their annual "Rodeo Road Trip" with a 104-94 win over the Houston Rockets Saturday night at Toyota Center.
The Spurs (50-9) became the second team to reach 50 wins by capping a 7-1 road trip, their lone loss coming at the Los Angeles Clippers in their first game following the All-Star Game. San Antonio led wire-to-wire, blitzing the Rockets (29-30) with 66.7 percent shooting in the first quarter.
Leonard scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, drilling a transition 3-pointer with 39.3 seconds left in the second quarter to provide the Spurs their first fast-break points of the game. Prior to that basket the Spurs had devastated Houston in the half court, passing with flair and recording 14 assists on 21 baskets en route to a 51-31 halftime lead.
San Antonio led by as many as 31, opening a 71-40 lead when Aldridge sank a pair of free throws with 5:00 left in the third quarter.
Rockets guard James Harden helped Houston cut the deficit to 43-31 with a floating jumper at the 3:13 mark of the second quarter, but the Spurs answered with a knockout 16-0 run that bridged the middle periods.
Harden scored a team-high 27 points but missed 15 of 25 shot attempts. His shooting woes were emblematic of the Rockets as a whole, as Houston shot just 41.7 percent despite posting 25 fast-break points.
Rockets center Dwight Howard added 11 points and 14 rebounds but shot 4 of 11. Reserves Jason Terry and Corey Brewer added 15 points apiece as Houston dropped its last three games against the Spurs following a win over San Antonio on Christmas night.
Aldridge finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Guard Tony Parker scored 15 points while Kyle Anderson scored 11 points in reserve for the Spurs, who will host the Pistons on March 2, their first game at AT&T Center since Feb. 6 against the Lakers.
Both Houston and the Spurs attempted 18 field goals in the first quarter, but the Rockets inability to hit a jump shot proved their undoing. The Rockets missed 13 attempts in the period with all five of their baskets coming in the paint via layups or dunks.
Terry delivered their first basket outside the paint with his baseline jumper at the 9:07 mark of the second quarter, and forward Trevor Ariza followed with the Rockets' first 3-pointer with 7:26 left.
But that basket merely cut the deficit to 34-18, and the Spurs held steady before closing the half with an 8-0 spurt to assume total control.
NOTES: Spurs G Manu Ginobili is making incremental progress following testicular surgery on Feb. 4, recently making his way to the court to shoot gingerly, according to coach Gregg Popovich. There is no clear timetable for his return despite initial reports that Ginobili could resume play in a month. ... Rockets C Clint Capela missed his second consecutive game with a right foot sprain. ... Rockets F/C Donatas Motiejunas saw his first action since Dec. 31 following a lengthy recovery from a re-aggravation of the back injury that sidelined him last postseason and for the first 20 games of this season. Motiejunas was traded to the Pistons at the deadline but that trade was revoked by Detroit over Motiejunas' back woes.