The San Antonio Spurs (22-8) and Houston Rockets (16-12) got things underway in San Antonio in a Texas sized showdown and it was a tale of two quarters.
Here is the first half recap.
First Quarter:
Stat Leader: Danny Green with 14 points, and 2 rebounds.
Recap: The Spurs hot shooting from the three-point line continued as the team rained down threes in the quarter (4/7). Danny Green once again led the barrage of threes and scored 14 in the first period to pace the team . But the Spurs also got the job done from other players with Parker scoring 13 points, and Tim Duncan scoring 10 points. San Antonio hit 57.1% from the three-point line. Houston was led by James Harden's 9 points.
Score: Spurs 41, Rockets 29.
Second Quarter:
Stat Leader: Duncan with 18 points, 4 rebounds
Recap: The Rockets came roaring back to narrow the gap to as much as four points. Sloppy play, turnovers, and the Spurs lack of aggression allowed Houston to avoid any blowout by the Spurs. Also, the refs became loose with the whistle and were calling ticky-tack fouls. Stephen Jackson picked up a technical foul which also stymied the Spurs from widening the scoring gap. Houston continued steady play and took a 1-point lead late in the game but a three and a bucket from Manu Ginobili allowed the Spurs to regain the lead heading into the halftime break. Spurs got outscored in the paint 18-24. Houston also had 10 fast break points to San Antonio's two points.
Score: Spurs 69, Rockets 65.
Stats:
Spurs shot 53.3% form the three-point line
Spurs had 11 fastbreak points.
Spurs connected on 91.7% free throws.