Spurs at Rockets
The Houston Rockets aim to add to their best start in 18 years when they host the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. The Rockets are 5-0 for the first time since 1996-97, and they've done it in convincing fashion, outscoring opponents by 71 points and winning each game by double digits. Houston has won five straight against San Antonio, which blew a 17-point lead before pulling out a 94-92 home win over Atlanta on Wednesday.
The Rockets have been unstoppable thus far thanks to the combination of Dwight Howard's presence in the paint and a wealth of deadly outside shooters. "You've got the most dominant big man in the league roaming around the rim so somebody has to take him," Houston star James Harden told reporters. "And then you have tremendous shooters on the wing. It's pretty hard to guard." It certainly presents a challenge for a San Antonio team that has been underwhelming in its first three games despite returning 14 players, including all five starters, from last year's championship squad.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE SPURS (2-1): San Antonio's aging core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 46 points against the Hawks, but it will be interesting to see how the veterans hold up in the second half of the back-to-back. Duncan had to play 35 minutes and Parker played 37 against Atlanta in a game the Spurs led big in the first half and should have been able to put away early. The Spurs defend the perimeter exceptionally well, holding opponents to 28.1 percent from 3-point range through three games, which bodes well against Houston's bombers.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (5-0): Houston hasn't really been challenged thus far, never trailing past the 10-minute mark of the third quarter. Howard has racked up four double-doubles, and Harden was within one rebound of a triple-double against Miami, forming one of the most difficult duos to defend in the league. If there's a weakness, it's the bench, which hasn't produced much and is especially thin with starting forward Terrence Jones nursing a bruised right leg that could keep him out of a second straight game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Duncan has 799 career double-doubles, sixth-most in NBA history.
2. Houston has made 10 or more 3-pointers in every game.
3. Spurs PF Tiago Splitter made his season debut against the Hawks but aggravated the calf injury that kept him out all preseason and for the first two games.