NBA -- Avenging Spurs bury Rockets, 121-103
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 Jan 2016
CHICAGO -- The San Antonio Spurs dialed in 13 threes from long distance and rung the Houston Rockets' bell, 121-103, on Sunday night at the AT&T Center.
Danny Green went 6-of-9 from 3-point range to finish with 18 points while the Spurs' big men --- LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw -- played equally large to help San Antonio avenge their 88-84 loss to the Rockets in Houston last December 25.
Aldridge went for 24 points and 9 rebounds. Leonard added 22 and six boards while Diaw hauled in eight boards to go along with his 20 points. David West, another bruising power forward in the Spurs' formidable frontline, chipped in 10 markers.
After holding a modest 60-55 halftime lead, the Spurs went on a 36-17 third quarter tear and built a 24-point second half advantage to bury Houston, which fell to 0-4 following its Christmas Day triumph.
The Spurs shot 45 of 86 field goals (52.3 percent) and 13 of 24 triples (54.2 percent) to improve their home record to 20-0, a franchise best to start the season. San Antonio also swished 18 of 19 free throws, out-rebounded the Rockets, 39-37, and dished five more dimes, 31-26.
"They just ran their stuff better than us tonight. They were the Spurs like the way the Spurs always play," Rockets guard Corey Brown told NBA.com.
Dwight Howard led the Rockets with 22 points and 10 boards while James Harden finished with 17. Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley added 10 points apiece for Houston, which shot 50.9 percent from the field but missed 13 of 33 free throws.
San Antonio improved to 29-6 while Houston dropped to 16-19. (HDS)
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