Rockets at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs could be without standout point guard Tony Parker for the second consecutive night when they host the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Parker, who leads the team with a 17.7 scoring average, sat out Friday’s victory over the Orlando Magic due to a sprained ankle suffered on Wednesday. The Spurs improved to 14-2 without him and now face a torrid Houston team that won its fourth straight game on Friday behind Chandler Parsons’ red-hot shooting.
Parsons scored 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting – including matching a career high with six 3-pointers – as the Rockets cruised to an easy 114-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Houston traditionally struggles when visiting San Antonio and has lost in each of its last seven visits. The Spurs have won 12 of their last 13 games and again are one of the NBA’s top clubs. “We know we’re going to win 50 games,” guard Manu Ginobili said after the win over the Magic. “That’s what happened last year and I think we’re a better team this year.”
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Houston, KENS (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (12-5): Parsons has overcome a slow start and Friday’s shooting effort was timely with James Harden struggling to nine points on 1-of-4 shooting after missing three games with a foot injury. Parsons is 34-of-51 from the field over the last five games – including 14-of-23 from 3-point range – while raising his season average to 16.8 points. “I started the season shooting poorly,” said Parsons, who shot under 50 percent in four of the first five games. “It’s all about staying confident and sticking with it and just continuing to put in the work in the gym. I’ve worked too hard for it not to start paying off.”
ABOUT THE SPURS (14-2): A victory without a key player is a San Antonio specialty and Ginobili credits the depth of the roster for why the Spurs typically don’t miss a beat. “That’s the way we are made,” Ginobili said after the win without Parker. “We don’t depend on absolutely one player. If we were going to miss Tony for 20 games, that’s another thing. But we can replace anybody for one or two games. We are deep. That’s one of the strengths of this team.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio won three of last season’s four meetings.
2. The Rockets drained a season-best 19 3-pointers in the win over the Nets.
3. Duncan has 38 career double-doubles against Houston.