Rockets hand Spurs first home loss
SAN ANTONIO -- Both the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs benefited from a relatively soft early season schedule, so a meeting between the two bitter Southwest Division rivals was just what each needed to gauge their early season success.
The Rockets, who average a league-leading 109.3 points, held off a second-half charge from the Spurs and held on for a 112-106 win, the first road team to do so this season, at the AT&T Center.
Guard James Harden led the Rockets (13-5) with 31 points to lead all scorers and forward Chandler Parsons continued his sharp shooting lately despite a sore back. He scored 25 points, including 4 of 8 from long range. He was 6 of 6 from deep Friday night against the Nets.
"I'm proud of the way we came out from the beginning," Harden said. "All four quarters we played great. We knew they were going to make a run. They're a great team, especially at home. We just kept our composure."
Guard Tony Parker led the Spurs (14-3) with 27 points and forward Tim Duncan added 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
What looked to be a Rockets blowout win -- they led by as many as 23 in the second quarter -- took a sudden turn right before the half. As the first half was about to expire, Rockets coach Kevin McHale nonchalantly walked in front and to the side of Duncan, who was trying to inbound the ball. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was furious since McHale walked to the Spurs side of Duncan.
NBA referee supervisor Mike Lauerman explained that "McHale was in coaching box and not close enough to impede Duncan's in-bounds pass".
"I was in the coaching box," McHale said. "But I probably should have gone and sat my big (butt) on the other side."
Popovich's rant earned a technical foul, but the Spurs opened the second half with much more intensity. They closed out the third quarter with a 20-8 run to cut the lead to a single point at one point.
"Well, it's a great lesson for us," Popovich said. "When you play a good basketball team, you've got to come with passion, edge, and aggressiveness for 48 minutes. We did that for a half, so I think it was a good lesson for our guys."
Guard Manu Ginobili missed a 3-pointer with 22.9 left and the Spurs trailing 108-106, but the Spurs couldn't foul in time to stop Parsons' breakaway dunk. Parsons fell hard to the court after the dunk but was able to continue playing.
The Spurs employed the Hack-A-Howard strategy in the final few minutes, intentionally fouling notoriously bad free-throw shooting Rockets center Dwight Howard, but he responded by hitting 4 of 6 in that stretch. Howard finished 5 of 8 from the stripe, better than teammate Harden, who was 8 of 13.
Guard Marco Belinelli scored 18 points off the Spurs bench.
"It's going to be a dogfight every time we see these guys," Howard said. "And that's what we want. That's going to make us a better team, and it's going to make it fun for our fans to watch."
NOTES: C Boris Diaw was a last-second starter for the Spurs, but he suffered a dislocated left middle finger in the second quarter and missed the rest of the game. There is no estimate on how much time Diaw (10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds) will miss, but he has been a key part of the powerful Spurs bench that is averaging 44.1 points a game, second most in the NBA. ... Rockets G Jeremy Lin missed his second consecutive game with a Grade I sprain and contusion of his right knee. He will miss at least two weeks. ... The NBA's two leading 3-point shooters were in this game: San Antonio G Marco Belinelli (.550) and Houston G Aaron Brooks (.533). The Spurs also boast two other top-20 3-point shooters in G Danny Green (tied for 16th at .462) and G Patty Mills (19th at .457). ... Mills has at least one steal in nine consecutive games. ... Last season, Spurs G Tony Parker averaged 24.5 points in four games against the Rockets; his season average was 20.3.
