Leonard makes big plays in Spurs' win
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard poured in an off-balance 3-pointer and then ran the floor to block a layup attempt by James Harden on the opposite end to propel the San Antonio Spurs past the Houston Rockets 112-110 on Monday at the AT&T Center in a Texas Showdown between two of the top three teams in the NBA.
After a Harden free throw with 39 seconds to play put the Rockets in front 108-107, Leonard moved to his left and scored from above the top of the key to give the Spurs a 110-108 lead.
After his block, Leonard's two free throws with 14.5 second remaining iced the game, gave him 39 points and provided San Antonio with its eighth straight victory. Seventeen of Leonard's points came in the fourth quarter and it was the 23st time this season that he scored 30-plus points in a game.
Tony Parker added 19 points for the Spurs (49-13) while LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points for San Antonio, which took the season series with Houston 3-1.
Harden scored 39 points and distributed 12 assists for the Rockets (44-20). The double-double was Harden's league-leading 50th of the season.
Trevor Ariza added 13 points, Clint Capela and Eric Gordon had 12 points apiece and Patrick Beverley hit for 11 points and took 10 rebounds for Houston.
Harden was on target early on, torching the Spurs for 18 points and six assists in the first quarter as Houston shot 69.6 percent from the floor and built a 39-23 lead after 12 minutes of play. The Rockets were 4 of 9 from 3-point range in the period, with three of those baskets from beyond the arc coming from Harden.
San Antonio's defense helped cool off the Rockets in the second quarter as Houston made just 6 of its 22 shots (27.3 percent) in the period and the Spurs surged back to get to within 54-47 at intermission.
Harden, who sat out the first six minutes of the second period as is his norm, led all scorers with 23 points and seven assists in the first half. Leonard paced the Spurs with 14 points while Aldridge added nine points for San Antonio.
The two teams combined to take just seven free throws in the first half, as Harden was 3 for 3 from the line and Aldridge was 3 for 4.
Harden keyed a 15-7 run by the Rockets in the first five minutes of the third quarter as Houston built its lead back to 69-56 as the Spurs looked as if they were stuck in neutral. But like the flip of a switch, San Antonio found its stride, getting a 3-pointer from Danny Green followed by back-to-back threes from Parker and a dunk by David Lee off a Leonard drive and dish that cut the Rockets' advantage to 69-67 at the 5:23 mark of the third quarter.
The Spurs roared to the lead two minutes later as Parker hit a layup and Lee again rocked the rim with a dunk on a Leonard feed. But the Rockets responded to carry an 82-81 lead into the final quarter, setting the table for a furious finish.
NOTES: Spurs F Kawhi Leonard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Feb. 27-March 5. Leonard is the fifth player in Spurs franchise history to be named Player of the Week at least four times, joining George Gervin (four), Tony Parker (eight), David Robinson (14) and Tim Duncan (23). ... Rockets G James Harden now has 21 games this season with at least 30 points and 10 assists, equaling the total such games in his career before 2016-17. ... The Spurs hold the record for highest field-goal percentage by a Rockets' opponent when they went going 48-71 (67.6 percent) from the field on April 7, 1985. ... Houston set a record for offensive rebounds against a San Antonio opponent on April 13, 1984, when the Rockets took 35. ... Houston returns home to face Utah on Wednesday while the Spurs play the fourth of 12 home games in March when Sacramento visits the Alamo City in Wednesday.