Field Level Media
Apr 1, 2018
LaMarcus Aldridge posted a double-double and received complementary scoring from Rudy Gay in the San Antonio Spurs' 100-83 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday at AT&T Center.
The Spurs averted a season series sweep and snapped the Rockets' 11-game winning streak in the process, holding Houston to 33.8 percent shooting.
Aldridge finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio, which desperately needed the victory to maintain pace in the hotly-contested Western Conference postseason picture. The Spurs are fourth in the West, a half-game up on Oklahoma City.
Gay scored 21 off the bench; the starting backcourt of Dejounte Murray and Danny Green combined for 25 points and 13 rebounds.
San Antonio wasn't exactly blistering offensively, but the Rockets' listlessness didn't punish their pedestrian showing. Houston had already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, and for a second consecutive game, played with relatively little fire.
James Harden paired 25 points with eight assists to pace the Rockets, who were without guard Chris Paul (rest). Eric Gordon chipped in 18 points for Houston, which shot just 7 for 31 from behind the arc yet set a NBA single-season record for 3-pointers.
Harden hit a trey with 32.2 seconds left in the third quarter for the Rockets' 1,182nd 3, bypassing their mark set last season.
The Rockets' previous season-low scoring total was 89 points in a loss at Memphis on Oct. 28.
For only the third time this season the Rockets failed to make a 3-pointer in a quarter, going 0-for-8 from behind the arc in the first period.
Despite that, the Spurs needed an 8-0 closing push to secure a 26-17 lead entering the second, with Gay tallying the final six points of that stretch.
The Rockets managed four 3s in the second quarter yet missed 15 of their 19 attempts by the intermission. Aldridge, meanwhile, was a steadying force, posting 11 points and nine boards by the break.
Gay added 10 points in the half for the Spurs, who closed the second on a 7-0 run.
--Field Level Media