DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 30 points and repeatedly delivered down the stretch of the San Antonio Spurs’ 111-106 win over the hot Houston Rockets on Saturday.
DeRozan added eight rebounds and seven assists to his ledger. He sank four late free throws and completed a three-point play with 63 seconds left that provided the Spurs a 107-102 lead.
Houston, which trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, had secured its first lead of the game at 102-100 on a John Wall pull-up jumper with 3:29 remaining. But two Jakob Poeltl free throws evened the score and DeRozan took over from there to carry the Spurs to victory.
Five other Spurs scored in double figures. Derrick White tallied 14 points, including a trio of baskets in the fourth quarter, each coming after the Rockets cut the deficit to one point. Drew Eubanks added 12 points and three blocked shots while Dejounte Murray chipped in 11 points.
Wall led the Rockets with 27 points and seven assists while DeMarcus Cousins posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Gordon (26 points) was one of three Houston reserves to score in double figures, with David Nwaba scoring 14 and Danuel House Jr. 12.
The Spurs recorded five blocked shots in the first quarter, two from Eubanks, a key factor in Houston shooting just 9 of 27 from the floor. The Rockets compounded matters by missing 4 of 5 free throws in the opening period.
After carrying a six-point lead into the second quarter, the Spurs took their first double-digit lead at 41-29 on a Rudy Gay (14 points) 3-pointer at the 7:06 mark.
A closing flurry at the end of the first half enabled the Spurs to carry a 51-47 lead into the break, with Patty Mills answering a Cousins basket with 3.3 seconds left with a buzzer beater.
While both teams shot below 40 percent prior to the break, the Spurs converted nine Houston turnovers into 10 points while getting 27 points from their bench, including 10 points from Eubanks.
–Field Level Media