Shorthanded Rockets toss game vs. Spurs

It was hard to imagine that a Rockets squad heading into a game without James Harden (rest), Eric Gordon (ankle), and Danuel House (rest) would be able to tightly compete with a desperate San Antonio Spurs team vying for playoff positioning for the Western Conference's eighth seed.

That sentiment held true in the Spurs' romp of the Rockets on Tuesday afternoon, crushing Houston by a score of 123-105.

The game got off to a relatively close start. Ben McLemore was hot early, going a quick 3-3 for seven points in five minutes. He earned the start for the resting Danuel House.

The Rockets exhibited a fair bit of sloppiness despite keeping the score close, however. Houston turned the ball over five times to the Spurs' one, and allowed San Antonio to dig into the paint consistently, to the tune of eighteen paint points in the first quarter.

The Spurs ended the first quarter with three players scoring eight points in DeMar Derozan, Jakob Poeltl, and Keldon Johnson. Ben McLemore led Houston with his seven points. Russell Westbrook had four points and four assists.

San Antonio pulled away in the second quarter, building a 45-30 lead in the second quarter with eight minutes left. Houston's sloppiness continued, amassing ten turnovers through seventeen minutes.

The Spurs cruised to the half with a 66-49 lead. They had their way with the Rockets scoring-wise, shooting 50% from the field and 35% from three point land, a rarity for a mid-range focused team. They outrebounded Houston by twelve in the first half, and held the Rockets to 23.5% (4-17) from three.

It was much of the same in the third. Russell Westbrook managed to pass Joe Johnson for 43rd on the all-time scoring list in the period.

San Antonio shot 40% from three through three quarters, which prompted Mike D'Antoni to throw in the metaphorical towel after the third quarter's conclusion, which saw the Rockets trailing by 20. The bench mob took over for the rest of the way, and Houston accepted only their second loss in the bubble.

With the loss, Houston drops to 44-26, but maintains their hold on the Western Conference's fourth seed. With a good amount of teams losing on purpose in an effort to garner favorable seeding position, Houston will likely employ the same strategy before the playoffs begin. The consensus is that Houston will attempt to retain the fourth seed in an effort to play the Utah Jazz in the first round, before hopefully beating them to advance to presumably play the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.

Houston's next game will be tomorrow against the Indiana Pacers, the second game of a back-to-back. Russell Westbrook will likely sit and rest, while James Harden, Danuel House, and Eric Gordon all figure to return to action.