Spurs 110, Rockets 106
Danny Green scored 24 points to go with five steals, helping host San Antonio snap a streak of six straight losses to Houston.
Manu Ginobili scored 15 points off the bench for the Spurs, who were without point guard Tony Parker (hamstring) and small forward Kawhi Leonard (hand). Tim Duncan collected 16 points and eight rebounds and Cory Joseph added 14 points for San Antonio.
James Harden scored 28 points but committed nine of Houston's season-high 25 turnovers. Corey Brewer scored a season-high 25 points in his third game since being acquired from Minnesota and Dwight Howard tallied 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets.
There were eight lead changes in the third quarter alone with Aron Baynes' bucket staking the Spurs to an 85-84 advantage entering the fourth before Howard hit back-to-back baskets to give Houston a 91-87 lead with 7:56 remaining. San Antonio responded with a 15-0 burst to take an 11-point lead, but Houston surged back and pulled within 108-106 on Trevor Ariza's 3-pointer with 12 seconds left before Green hit two free throws to seal it.
Brewer hit buzzer beaters to end the first two quarters, banking in a long 3-pointer at the end of the first and hitting a fall-away jumper just before the half, but San Antonio still took a 56-55 lead to the break. The Spurs trailed by 10 after a Howard put-back with 8:27 left in the half, but Ginobili and Green hit 3-pointers to bookend an 11-0 run that helped San Antonio take the one-point halftime edge.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston F Josh Smith was limited to five points on 2-of-7 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in his second game with the Rockets after scoring 21 points in his debut with the team. … Brewer is 11-for-17 from 3-point range in three games with the Rockets after going 8-for-41 from behind the arc in 24 games with the Timberwolves this season. … Spurs SG Patty Mills returned from shoulder surgery to make his season debut and finished with eight points and four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.