ROCKETS DEFEAT SPURS
VanVleet takes charge: Rockets outlast Spurs in victory
Mar 13, 2024, 9:40 am
Rockets defeat Spurs, 103-101. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Fred VanVleet scored 21 points and the Houston Rockets held Victor Wembanyama in check to beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-101 on Tuesday night.
San Antonio cut the deficit to 99-98 with 19 seconds remaining on Jeremy Sochan’s three-point play off a missed 3-pointer by Wembanyama. But Houston was able to stay ahead from the foul line.
“I feel like we followed the game plan until the final minute,” Rockets guard Dillon Brooks said. “We wanted to foul and not let them get any shots up on the rim, make them earn it on the free throw line.”
Houston won its fourth straight on the road and is five games behind Golden State for 10th in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists after a sluggish start.
“I wish we played him again,” Brooks said.
Wembanyama finished 5 for 12 from the field as Houston threw multiple double- and triple-teams at him while using undersized defenders such as Brooks and Jae’Sean Tate.
“The physicality, the energy,” Wembanyama said of the difficulties he faced offensively. “Every night it’s a challenge, but this is a very aggressive team defensively, so this is the most hard.”
Tre Jones had 22 points and Sochan added 21 as San Antonio lost for the fourth time in five games.
At 14-52, San Antonio must finish at least 7-9 to avoid matching the franchise’s worst record of 20-62 set in 1997.
Jalen Green had 16 points and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 for the Rockets, who had seven players score at least eight points.
The Rockets were without Alperen Sengun, who had a career-high 45 points and five blocks along with a season-best 16 rebounds in a 114-101 victory over the Spurs on March 5. Sengun is out indefinitely after sustaining injuries to his right ankle and knee against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
Jones matched a career high with four 3-pointers, all in the first half. He finished 4 for 7 on 3-pointers and was held to six points in the second half.
“Tre is a consummate competitor,” Popovich said. “He’s going to do everything he can to win a game. Simple as that. That’s what he does. He’s at his best night after night after night. He’ll do anything that needs to be done.”
Jones’ output was needed with Keldon Johnson sitting out with a stomach illness and Wembanyama and Devin Vassell having off nights.
Wembanyama and Vassell, the team’s leading scorers, were a combined 2 for 7 and had two points apiece with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Vassell finished with five points and Wembanyama had 11 points in the final 14 minutes of the game.
“When you’ve got a guy like Wembanyama, we feel like we have three, four really solid defenders that we can throw on him,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “Guys that are undersized that can kind of move in on him and take him off his spot. (Tate) came in and did some of the same things that Dillon was doing.”
Vassell was fouled off an inbounds play with four seconds remaining before he could take a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Vassell made the first free throw and then purposely missed the second, which Amen Thompson rebounded to seal the victory.
“It’s something that we’ve worked on and done quite a few times this year,” Udoka said. “It’s worked well for us. You want to take away that only shot that can (tie) us and our denials were really good.”
The Spurs built a 10-point lead to open the game, but the Rockets went on an 8-0 run as soon as Wembanyama went to the bench for a rest.
The Spurs face Denver on Friday in a home game at Austin as part of their regional outreach.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host Washington on Thursday night.
Spurs: Host Denver on Friday night in Austin.
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NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.