The Houston Rockets will look to carry the momentum from their initial win of the season when they clash with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in the first of two games in three nights in the Alamo City between the teams.
The Rockets travel to San Antonio after a 128-108 win at home over Memphis on Friday in the first game of a back-to-back. All five of Houston’s starters — and seven players overall — scored in double figures in the victory, with Jalen Green leading the way with 22 points. Among that group, Alperen Sengun (16 points and 15 rebounds) and Jabari Smith Jr. (14 and 16, respectively) amassed double doubles.
Dillon Brooks added 18 points for the Rockets, Fred VanVleet had 16, Tari Eason scored 13 and Cam Whitmore hit for 11 in the win, which came after Houston squandered an 18-point lead in a season-opening loss to Charlotte on Wednesday.
Houston took control of Friday’s game with a 31-7 run to close out the third quarter. The Rockets were down 76-73 at the 6:34 mark of the third but scored the ensuing 11 points to sweep to the lead and were up 98-83 heading to the final period.
One of the keys for the Rockets this season is playing with pace, and that begins with rebounding on the defensive end. The health of center Steven Adams, who is recovering from a left calf strain, is a huge part of that equation. Adams missed the first two games and is “literally day to day, game to game,” according to Houston coach Ime Udoka.
Adams was out all of last season after undergoing right knee surgery in October 2023 but did play (in a limited role) in three of Houston’s preseason games.
“It’ll be gradual as far as having to have reminders, and certain guys do it naturally,” Udoka told The Athletic. “But we want to encourage everybody to rebound, push, run and fill in the lanes. (We need) our guys to get out and take advantage of our speed and athleticism.
“When we (pushed the pace) in certain games during the preseason, it looked good. Some of the things we’re trying to stress will be constant reminders until it becomes second nature.”
The Spurs return to San Antonio for their home opener after a 120-109 loss at Dallas on Thursday. Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan paced San Antonio with 18 points each in the setback with Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes adding 17 points apiece. Wembanyama also had nine rebounds to lead the Spurs but struggled from the floor, making just 5 of 18 shot attempts.
Chris Paul, like Barnes, played in his first regular season game for San Antonio and had just three points but added eight assists and seven rebounds.
“I loved the fight that we showed,” Paul said afterward. “There are no moral victories, but we played against a team that went to the Western Conference Finals and won and went to the (NBA) Finals. I’m excited about the Spurs that I have seen, and I know what is capable from our team.”
Paul (1 of 4) and Wembanyama (1 of 8) combined to shoot 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in the loss.
“I think we had some really great basketball moments and some really bad ones,” Wembanyama said.
