Spurs at Rockets
THE STORY: The hottest team in the NBA resides deep in the heart of Texas, but it's not who you might think. Houston takes a five-game winning streak into its contest against visiting San Antonio. It's been quite a turnaround for coach Kevin McHale's team, which started the season with a 2-6 record and looked like it would get buried in the deep Western Conference. Instead, the Rockets have turned their season around. Houston showed one quality of a good team Thursday night against New Orleans - winning when it doesn't play well. The Rockets scored just seven points in the fourth quarter and needed to rally in overtime for a 90-88 win. "It just looked like the life was out of us, but we found a way to pull out that one." said Kevin Martin, who scored 32 points. The Spurs are coming off a shocking 88-86 home loss to lowly Sacramento on Friday. San Antonio was 9-0 at home, but failed to hold an 84-78 lead with four minutes to play. The Spurs missed their last five shots.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio), Fox Sports Houston (Houston).
ABOUT THE SPURS (10-6): San Antonio is 7-4 since Manu Ginobili broke his hand on Jan. 2. While the Spurs have been dominant at AT&T Center, at least until Friday, playing on the road has been a different story. San Antonio is 1-5 away from home, including a 105-85 loss to the Rockets on Dec. 29. The five losses have been by an average of 13.4 points. San Antonio's only win came in an 85-83 victory over Orlando on Wednesday. The Spurs lead the rugged Southwest Division of the Western Conference by a game over Memphis.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (8-7): It looked like the winning streak
was over when Houston fell behind by five points in overtime Thursday,
but Samuel Dalembert saved the day. After his three-point play drew the
Rockets closer, Luis Scola's two free throws tied the game. Dalembert
then ran the floor for a rebound slam dunk after Martin's missed layup
for the winning basket. Dalembert recorded his second straight
double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. He had 14 points and 12
rebounds Tuesday against Detroit. Houston is 6-1 at home.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Rockets have held double-figure leads in eight straight games. That's one game shy of matching their longest streak since 2008-09.
2. Tim Duncan, after playing 36 minutes on Wednesday, was on the court for only 25 minutes against Sacramento. He sat out the fourth quarter until the final 5.5 seconds.
3. The Spurs defeated the Rockets, 101-95 at home in overtime on Jan. 11. San Antonio has won five of seven from Houston.