Rockets-Spurs Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Dec 07 2012 12:41AM

Fine or no fine, Gregg Popovich isn't likely to change his philosophy on resting starters throughout the season.

So far, the San Antonio Spurs' bench has been ready to answer the coach's call.

The Spurs, though, won't get a break in the schedule Friday night when they host the Houston Rockets, losers of five straight on the road.

San Antonio's reserves nearly led the team to a win at Miami on Nov. 29 after Popovich sent four starters home to rest before the nationally televised contest.

Popovich, whose team was later fined $250,000 for his action, went to his bench out of necessity on Wednesday night.

With Danny Green (hamstring), Stephen Jackson (finger), Kawhi Leonard (knee) and Patty Mills (ankle) out because of injuries, the Spurs displayed their depth again in a 110-99 victory over Milwaukee.

Gary Neal started in place of Green and scored 22 points, Tiago Splitter finished with 15, Manu Ginobili had 11 and Matt Bonner added a season-high 12 rebounds off the bench.

Even with Neal moving into the starting lineup, San Antonio's bench had 40 points, 25 rebounds and 13 assists, and fueled a late 36-13 run that keyed the team's seventh win in eight games.

The Spurs (15-4) rank near the top of the Western Conference in bench scoring at 39.8 points per game. They'll continue to need a complete team effort with this contest starting a stretch of three games in four nights.

"They're talented," said Tony Parker, who led the starters with 22 points. "They showed it in Miami and they showed it again. Pop is always trying to do stuff to make sure our bench is performing."

Tim Duncan, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bonner led an impressive performance on the boards. San Antonio outrebounded Milwaukee 53-36, including 28-17 in the second half.

The Spurs hope to match that effort against the Rockets (9-8), who rank near the top of the NBA in rebounding (45.2 per game). Omer Asik ranks third in the league with 12.1 per contest.

The Rockets also received a boost from their bench on Tuesday night. Toney Douglas scored a season-high 22 points, Greg Smith added a career-best 21 and Carlos Delfino had 15 in a 107-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We had a lot of guys struggle, but our bench was good," said interim coach Kelvin Sampson. "There is a lot to be said about having guys on the bench that you trust that can come through."

James Harden, the team leader with 23.6 points per game, will try to break out of a 13 for 51 (25.5 percent) shooting slump over his last three games.

After averaging 23.0 points in his previous three games, Patrick Patterson is also looking to get back on track after a six-point effort on Tuesday.

Houston shot just 37.6 percent from the field - including 7 of 34 (20.6 percent) from beyond the arc - against the Lakers after shooting 50.3 percent in its previous four games.

While the Rockets have averaged 111.7 points in winning five of six, all five of those victories have come at home. They're just 2-5 on the road and haven't won there since the second game of the season.

Houston, which split the four-game series with the Spurs last season, will try to avoid a sixth straight loss in San Antonio.

Parker leads balanced Spurs past Rockets 114-92

Posted Dec 08 2012 12:18AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) James Harden received a familiar welcome to San Antonio, but little else resembled his previous trip to the River City.

Tony Parker had 17 points and seven assists, and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in a 114-92 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.

The Spurs had six players score in double figures while matching their season high with 33 assists. San Antonio (16-4) led by as many as 33 points and never by less than 21 in the final quarter.

"They're a very good team," Harden said, "especially at home. They did a good job at moving the ball and we knew they were going to pass the ball. It was just a matter of us locking down and trying to stay on one page defensively."

It was Harden's first game in San Antonio since helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Spurs last season in the Western Conference finals. Harden was traded by the Thunder to the Rockets before the start of this season.

San Antonio fans certainly remembered Harden, who was booed heartily during pregame introductions and every time he shot a free throw.

While Harden had 29 points and five assists to lead Houston, he couldn't help the Rockets walk away with a win against the well-balanced Spurs.

Tiago Splitter added 15 points and Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills and Tim Duncan each scored 12. Duncan also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Every active San Antonio player scored and played at least 8 minutes.

"We weren't as consistent as we'd like to be, but we had a really good pace offensively and I got to play a lot of guys," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Parker keyed a quick start, scoring eight points and picking up two assists as San Antonio took a 10-point lead in the first 5 minutes.

Jeremy Lin had difficulty keeping up with Parker, who raced by him for three layups in scoring eight of the Spurs' first 10 points. Parker also made a pair of free throws during the run after being fouled by Lin on a layup attempt.

"You're not really going to take away everything just because something's got to give," Lin said. "They move the ball well. The speed in which they move their offense and the speed in which they make decisions makes it really hard (to defend)."

Lin finished with four points, four assists and two turnovers.

Harden kept the Rockets in contention early, scoring 13 points in the first quarter after being shut out in the opening 4 minutes. His 3-pointer pulled Houston to 14-13, but the Rockets never tied it.

Harden fueled another rally in the second half, scoring nine points to help Houston pull to 66-58 with 7:27 left in the third quarter.

The Spurs responded with a 15-0 run following a vocal timeout by Popovich. San Antonio held the Rockets scoreless for 4 minutes during the run to essentially seal the game.

"It was important," Neal said. "Coach Pop kind of rattled the cage a little bit with that timeout."

San Antonio opened a 103-70 lead with 6:48 left on an 8-foot jumper by DeJuan Blair. The Rockets closed the game on a 22-11 run, but both teams had already pulled their starters midway through the period.

Matt Bonner did give the fans and the Spurs' bench something to cheer about in the final minutes, driving baseline for a two-handed, rim-hanging dunk that drew cheers, laughter and shouts of excitement from his teammates.

"Of the NBA, it's like top 10, easy," Duncan said about where Bonner's dunk ranks historically. "World? Fifteen, maybe. Top 15."

The dunk capped a needed blowout win for the Spurs, who play at Charlotte on Saturday night to open a four-game road trip.

"It was great for them to keep it that way," Duncan said. "Obviously with the game tomorrow, and this long flight tonight, we wanted to have as much rest as possible and not take Charlotte lightly. It was good to keep our minutes down, good to give a lot of guys a lot of minutes and spread it around as much as possible. Four games in five nights? We need as much rest as possible."

NOTES: Neal set a career high with his eighth start of the season. ... Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson (broken right pinkie) and F Kawhi Leonard (left knee) both sat out with injuries. ... Duncan had the 742nd double-double of his career. ... Houston has lost 10 straight road games against Southwest Division opponents since a 91-89 victory at New Orleans on Feb. 27, 2011. ... Houston's Chandler Parsons went 0 for 4 from 3-point range, snapping his streak of making at least one 3 at 23 games in a row.

Notebook: Spurs 114, Rockets 92

Andrew McNeill, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:45 PM - Updated Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:45 PM

THE FACTS: The San Antonio Spurs never trailed in their 114-92 win over the Houston Rockets, going up by as many as 33 points in the win. San Antonio shot 55.2 percent from the field to the Rockets' 38.9 percent.

Tony Parker was the leading scorer for the Spurs with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Tiago Splitter added 15 points.

James Harden led Houston with 29 points.

QUOTABLE: "All around, we are getting 10, 11 or 12 guys out there who are really focused on what they're doing on the court. They're making the most of their minutes."

-- Spurs forward Tim Duncan

THE STAT: The Spurs dominated the Rockets in the paint 60-38.

TURNING POINT: San Antonio went on 15-0 run in the third quarter to stretch an eight-point lead to 21.

QUOTABLE II: "I think we missed a lot of shots that we normally make, to be honest. I think they did a good job of taking away our first option."

-- Rockets guard Jeremy Lin

HOT: The Spurs' rebounding. For the second game in a row, San Antonio had a decided advantage on the boards, outrebounding Houston 50-37.

NOT: Second-chance points. Houston and San Antonio combined for 16 offensive rebounds, but only five second-chance points were scored in San Antonio's win. The Spurs had the advantage, 3-2.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: To go along with Harden's 29 points, he also had three 3-pointers, five assists, three rebounds and four steals for Houston. Duncan had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two blocks for the Spurs. Parker combined his 17 points with seven assists on the stat sheet.

ROOKIE WATCH: Nando De Colo had seven points, five assists and four rebounds in almost 21 minutes for the Spurs. Terrence Jones had nine points and three rebounds in 7:31 for the Rockets. Donatas Mantiejunas didn't score in 1:26 for Houston.

NOTABLE: The Spurs tied their season high for assists in a game, with 33 on the team's 48 made field goals. Chandler Parsons did not hit at least one 3-pointer for the first time in 23 games for Houston.

UP NEXT: For the Rockets, Saturday vs. Dallas, Monday vs. San Antonio, Wednesday vs. Washington. For the Spurs, Saturday @ Charlotte, Monday @ Houston, Wednesday @ Utah.

• Rockets: Machado, White
• Spurs: Jackson, Leonard

• Rockets: --
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #54 Nick Buchert, #41 Ken Mauer, #11 Derrick Collins
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 1:55