The Spurs virtually snuck up on a tired Rockets team on the second night of a back-to-back on Sunday night, building an insurmountable lead in the first half that the Rockets nearly erased in the second half by always played harder. However, it ultimately fell through as the Spurs cruised to a 109-106 win. Tonight, the Rockets didn’t wait until the second half to bring the issue to the forefront, dominating the flat Silver and Black with a 17-point halftime lead.

Tonight’s game was almost a mirror image as Spurs were the tougher team in the second half and took over the game in the final quarter as their bench and Victor took over the game. They couldn’t quite take the lead as the Rockets hit key shots to thwart the comeback. In the final minute, the Spurs almost pulled off a miracle with a six-point possession, but Van Vleet hit a crucial three-pointer to give the Rockets a 106-101 victory.

Observations

• Fanduel has taken over Bally’s local broadcasts and the studio and graphics look much better. I guess they’re not quite as broke as Bally, who was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy.
• On Sunday, the Rockets were a little sluggish early in the game, but tonight they started strong and took an early 14-3 lead. The Spurs reserves came and stabilized the situation a little, although things got a little uneasy with a double tech between Sochan and Jabari Smith Jr., which ended in the dreaded double technical foul.
• Collins is finding his place as an enforcer off the bench. He’s not the most talented player, but he makes a difference when he plays hard.
• Wemby’s ability to erase shots when it looks like he’s completely out of the game is unreal. He didn’t have a great offensive game tonight, but he was impressive in every other way as he filled the stat sheet.
• The Houston defense dominated the first quarter and led 29-15 at halftime.
• It seems like a long time since Steven Adams was good.
• Jalen Green was on fire in the first half with 24 points and the Rockets led 62-45 at halftime.
• The Spurs’ defense wasn’t bad, but the Rockets smashed the offensive boards and took advantage of the wide-open shot on their second and third opportunities.
• I think this team is missing Tre Jones coming off the bench.
• Sochan took a hint from Olivia Newton-John and got physical at the start of the second half. We could hear his body talking as he carried the ball to the basket and pushed it into the basket.
• Dillon Brooks is an idiot, but he’s also a good basketball player. I want to hate him, but you have to respect his game.
• In a sequence that highlights the Spurs’ problems in the game, they had five shots in the third quarter and missed all of them.
• The Spurs looked dead midway through the third period, but ended the game with a flurry as they trailed 87-75 with 12 minutes to play, led by their bench.
• Stephon Castle is so impressive for a player in his third professional game.
• Don’t give up on Malaki Branham.
• Champagnie sat for most of the fourth quarter on defense on Sunday, but Pop kept him in the lineup tonight and he responded with some nice defensive plays.
• The Spurs kept it close in the fourth, but the game ended when the Rockets took an 8-point lead with under a minute left, but a magical four-point play from Chris Paul led to a six-point possession as he A blatant foul on Tari caused Eason and Wemby to score in the middle area. Van Vleet hit a three-pointer and the magic died as the Rockets won 106-101.

The Spurs travel to Oklamoma City for FIGABABA on Wednesday night and Utah for SEGABABA against the Jazz on Thursday.