Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Westbrook, Harden lead biggest comeback win in Rockets history

Led by 59 points from James Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets had a historic comeback from a 25-point deficit to beat the Spurs.

Franchise co-stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 59 points as the Rockets overcame a 25-point deficit Monday night to defeat their in-state rival San Antonio Spurs, 109-107 (box score).

It’s the largest comeback in a victory in Rockets franchise history. Houston trailed by a 69-44 margin with just 1:30 left until halftime, then finished the game on a 65-38 run over the game’s final 25+ minutes.

After allowing 72 points to the Spurs (10-16) in the first half, the Rockets (18-9) put the clamps on defensively in the second half by holding them to 35 points. Bryn Forbes scored 18 points and hit 6-of-9 three-pointers (66.7%) on the night, but his final attempt rimmed out with 22 seconds left and the Spurs trailing by just one point at the time.

Westbrook scored a game-high 31 points (11-of-25 shooting, 44%) and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Harden had 28 points (10-of-29 shooting, 34.5%), eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The two Houston stars and former MVPs combined for the clinching rebound in the final seconds Monday, when San Antonio’s Derrick White intentionally missed a free throw down two points in hopes of his team getting the offensive rebound and a chance to tie or win.

Westbrook secured the loose ball off White’s miss and fired it straight up into the air to allow time to expire. That sent the crowd at Toyota Center home happy, with Houston securing its largest-ever comeback win.

Rebounding and effort plays were critical to the rally by the Rockets, who scored 109 points despite only shooting 11-of-43 (25.6%) from three-point range. They overcame that poor shooting in large part by grabbing 58 rebounds as a team, led by 15 from Clint Capela, 11 by P.J. Tucker, 10 by Westbrook, and eight from Harden.

Though the Rockets didn’t make many treys by their league-leading standards, several of the ones they did hit were quite timely. Harden hit a step-back three-pointer to tie the game at 97 with 5:36 left, and Tucker and Ben McLemore each drilled go-ahead threes on consecutive possessions in the final three-and-a-half minutes.

The Tucker three came off an assist from Capela, who tied his career high with five on the night. The big man also scored 15 points on 77.8% shooting in a team-high 40 minutes, showing how far he’s come in recent seasons at improving his stamina. Before last year, Capela hadn’t averaged 30 minutes per game in any of his first four NBA seasons.

McLemore was one of Houston’s lone bright spots from a shooting perspective, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%) and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on three-pointers. His four three-point makes tied Harden for the team lead, though Harden was much less efficient with 13 attempts.

Harden did make a bit of history with his seven assists, which tied Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy for the team’s all-time assists lead at 4,402.

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The Spurs were led by seven-time All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who had team highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The comeback felt like fitting revenge for the Rockets, who blew a 22-point lead earlier this month in San Antonio in a game remembered most for the Harden dunk that wasn’t counted. Houston protested that game, though the NBA ultimately denied it.

This time, Harden had a key dunk in the fourth quarter that did count.

The Rockets now have two straight off days before beginning a four-game West Coast road trip in Los Angeles against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the star-studded Clippers (20-8). The Rockets and Clippers split a pair of games in November, with the home team winning both.

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WATCH: James Harden, Dejounte Murray have heated exchange

Rockets star James Harden was clearly frustrated early in Monday’s game, and it boiled over in a physical sequence with Dejounte Murray.

It was a first quarter to forget for Houston Rockets star James Harden on Monday, with the former MVP scoring just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting.

However, it’ll likely be remembered for a while because of a confrontation he with Spurs guard Dejounte Murray.

Harden drove inside regularly and appeared to draw contact on several occasions, but officials didn’t grant him a single free throw in the quarter.

Harden’s frustration was evident in his body language on the court, and it boiled over in a physical altercation with Murray in which both players engaged in light shoving and were given technical fouls.

Some of Harden’s frustration may also have had to do with the opponent. The Rockets lost by two to the Spurs earlier this month in a game remembered for his dunk that didn’t count, and they were also denied their ensuing protest over that sequence.

In 20 games before the protest, Harden averaged 14.9 free-throw attempts per game. But the NBA’s scoring leader had a very different whistle in the six games since, averaging just 8.5 free throws per game.

The Rockets (17-9) fell behind 16-2 in the opening minutes of Monday’s game and trailed 35-21 after the first quarter, with Harden’s sub-standard contributions a key early storyline.

San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The San Antonio Spurs (10-15) and Houston Rockets (17-9) tangle at Toyota Center at 8 p.m. ET Monday. We analyze the Spurs-Rockets odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.

Spurs at Rockets: Key injuries

Spurs: SG Lonnie Walker IV (knee) is a question mark for Monday’s game.

Rockets: PG Austin Rivers (finger) and C Tyson Chandler (illness) are each expected to play.

Spurs at Rockets: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 9:50 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Rockets 123, Spurs 116

Moneyline (ML)

The Rockets (-589) should roll over the Spurs (+425), but there is no way to justify playing Houston at nearly six times the risk of your return unless you include this game in a parlay of six or more teams. Even then, that’s just not for me.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The SPURS (+10.5, -115) are worth a look despite the fact they’re 0-3-1 ATS in the past four trips to Houston. They won the most recent meeting on Dec. 3 by a 135-133 score in double-overtime. You can expect Houston pays them back, but San Antonio will keep it within single digits.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the OVER 231.5 (-121), which easily cashed in the most recent meeting in this series. The Over is also 4-1 in the past five for San Antonio, and 6-2 in the past eight on the road. For Houston, the Over is 5-2-1 in the past eight at Toyota Center against teams with a road winning percentage under .400.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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All-Decade Power Rankings: Golden State Warriors rule the 2010s

The Golden State Warriors were easily the most dominant NBA team in the 2010s decade. What teams followed them? Our full rankings included.

The end of the decade is upon us, which a good time to look at the teams that thrived and those that took a nosedive over the 2010s.

For clarity, the period examined begins with the 2010-11 NBA season and ends Dec. 12, 2019, rather than bridging games that were played in the second half of 2009-10. Remember, the 2011-12 season was limited to 66 games due to a players’ strike.

30. Sacramento Kings

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings have been consistent … as in consistently under .500. The last time the franchise had a winning season was 2005-06. It will be interesting to see if they can get over the .500 mark this go-round. The Kings are currently flirting with .500 but still under.

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NBA denies Rockets’ protest, but disciplines officials for miscues

The NBA said it agreed with Houston that rules were misapplied on multiple occasions, with the league discipling all three game officials.

The NBA on Monday formally denied a protest by the Houston Rockets over a Dec. 3 game at San Antonio.

Houston’s goal was for the game to be replayed from the moment of James Harden‘s uncounted dunk with 7:50 left in regulation, with the Rockets up by the 15-point margin that the dunk would have given them.

The game was tied after regulation, with the Rockets ultimately losing by two points in double overtime. Houston’s argument was that the bizarre mistake was relevant to the final result, and thus worthy of a replay.

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The league said it agreed with the Rockets that the rules were misapplied, adding that it had disciplined all three officials who were involved. However, league commissioner Adam Silver suggested there was too much time left in the game when the errors occurred to justify a replay.

“While agreeing that the referees misapplied the rules, Commissioner Silver determined that the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the error during the remainder of the fourth quarter and two subsequent overtime periods and thus the extraordinary remedy of granting a game protest was not warranted,” the league said in its statement.

The nature of the discipline given to the officials — led by crew chief James Capers — was not disclosed.

The league’s statement also clarified that head coach Mike D’Antoni was incorrectly denied the right to challenge the play.

“The [challenge] request was denied by the officials because more than 30 seconds had elapsed from the start of the timeout,” the NBA wrote. “But the 30-second time limit for coach’s challenges only applies when the challenge arises during a mandatory timeout or a timeout called by the opposing team. Because Houston called the timeout in this case, it was entitled to challenge the basket interference call upon being inforced of it by the game officials.”

“If the coach’s challenge requested by Houston had been properly granted, instant replay would have shown that Harden’s dunk was a successful field goal,” the league added in its news release.

As a follow-up to the investigation, the NBA said it would work with its competition committee to develop additional procedures to help prevent the situation with Harden’s made basket from occurring again.

With the ruling finalized, the Spurs and Rockets’ known records of 9-14 and 15-7, respectively, entering Monday’s games will stand.

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Austin Rivers explains why he supports Rockets’ protest

In a new interview, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers explains why he supports management’s decision to protest the loss in San Antonio.

Game protests are rare in the NBA, and successful ones even more so. But Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers thinks his team’s current bid is worthy of that rare status.

Speaking Friday night to Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman, Rivers described the play — James Harden‘s made dunk in Tuesday’s fourth quarter at San Antonio that didn’t count — that led to the fallout.

Yeah, that was ridiculous. I don’t know how they didn’t see it. I saw it. That’s their job, right? The refs, you’ve got one thing to do, and that’s watch the ball go through the hoop.

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When Berman followed up by asking Rivers whether he agreed with management’s decision to formally protest the game, the 27-year-old reserve was direct in his response.

I do. Why wouldn’t we? Hopefully we can run that back. That was a big difference in the game. But it’s not why we lost, so we’ll see.

The Rockets were on a two-game road trip to San Antonio and Toronto this week, so Rivers’ comments late Friday were the first by any member of the team to local media since arriving back in Houston.

Rivers spoke at a holiday shopping charity event for local children from the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program. All children in attendance (with their mentors) received a meal, shirt, and Adidas backpack filled with Rockets items and school supplies.

Rivers also met and took photos with the children and presented each with a $200 gift card for a personal shopping spree at Target. He then joined them at the store to help pick out gifts, as did Rockets’ reserves Isaiah Hartenstein and Gary Clark.

Rivers and the Rockets (14-7) return to basketball Saturday at Houston’s Toyota Center, where they host the Phoenix Suns (10-11) to kick off a two-game homestand. Rivers, who has quickly become a fan favorite in the Houston community since his arrival to the team in December 2018, is averaging 8.5 points in 24.9 minutes per game this season.

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Rockets protest loss at San Antonio for misapplication of rules

The Houston Rockets on Thursday night officially filed their protest with the NBA regarding the team’s Dec. 3 loss at San Antonio.

The Houston Rockets on Thursday night officially filed their protest with the NBA regarding the team’s Dec. 3 loss at San Antonio.

The timing of the move was expected, since teams must file any protests within 48 hours of the conclusion of the game in question.

Houston’s goal is for Tuesday’s game to be replayed from the moment of James Harden‘s uncounted dunk with 7:50 left in regulation, with the Rockets up by the 15-point margin that the dunk would have given them.

The game was tied at the end of the fourth quarter, so those two points were certainly impactful to the game’s result.

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According to Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen, the Rockets’ argument will cite a “misapplication of rules” — with regards to points not being awarded following a made basket, as well as the the on-court officials failing to grant a coaches’ challenge to Mike D’Antoni.

Officiating crew chief James Capers said postgame that the call of basket interference was reviewable, but that the Rockets did not challenge it within the allowed 30-second window. D’Antoni, however, says the officials were unclear in their explanations to him on what the call actually was — and thus, he didn’t immediately know what to challenge.

According to ESPN‘s Tim MacMahon, the Rockets noted in their protest Thursday that a basket interference call was not made — which could undermine the validity of Capers’ postgame explanation regarding both the call and why a challenge was not granted.

MacMahon writes:

The Rockets, according to sources, note in their protest that a basket interference call was not made, contrary to Capers’ postgame explanation. Houston, sources said, provided five points of supporting evidence: a basket interference signal was never given, the clock continued to run, the Spurs inbounded from the spot where the ball went out of bounds, referee Kevin Scott told the Rockets at the time and later in the game that it was a missed basket, and the official scorer scored it as a missed basket after initially awarding Houston two points.

The last NBA protest to be upheld occurred in 2008, when the Heat successfully protested a game in Atlanta where the official scorer ruled incorrectly that Shaquille O’Neal had fouled out.

With the protest officially in, both the Rockets and Spurs now have five days to provide relevant evidence. Commissioner Adam Silver then has five days after receiving that evidence to make his ruling, which would make for a likely resolution somewhere around Dec. 15.

Two years ago, the Rockets protested a December 2017 game against the Clippers but ultimately withdrew it before Silver’s ruling, with reports suggesting that Houston became skeptical it would be upheld.

The December 2017 protest was largely based on a judgment call, with the officials incorrectly assessing a called foul on Los Angeles guard Lou Williams rather than Jawun Evans, who would have fouled out. However, because the mistake was made by on-court officials rather than the official scorer (the basis of Miami’s successful 2008 protest), the NBA appeared reluctant to overturn an official’s snap judgment.

For the Rockets to win their current protest over Harden’s dunk, they will likely need to show that the officiating mistakes leading to it resulted from an improper process — rather than simply an incorrect judgment.

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Podcast: On the Westbrook slump, likely Rockets protest, and more

Thursday’s podcast explores a potential Rockets protest after the loss in San Antonio; Russell Westbrook’s continued slump; and much more.

Thursday’s episode of the Locked on Rockets podcast with host Jackson Gatlin and analyst Ben DuBose breaks down the latest issues in Houston as the 2019-20 NBA season hits the quarter pole.

Topics include what went wrong in Tuesday’s double-overtime loss in San Antonio, headlined by the officiating fiasco and potential protest; shooting struggles from backcourt stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden (combined 18-of-68 shooting); and defensive lapses that led to a late explosion from Spurs prospect Lonnie Walker IV (28 points).

With most Rockets (13-7) playing extreme minutes due to two overtimes, could it limit their energy for Thursday’s showdown at Toronto (15-5)?

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Thursday’s podcast explores those themes and much more, with a particular focus on the ongoing shooting slump of Westbrook.

With the NBA’s 2017 Most Valuable Player (MVP) shooting just 41.0% overall and 22.9% on three-pointers at the quarter pole of the season, is it time for concern regarding Westbrook’s fit with Harden, relative to Chris Paul? And if not, are there things head coach Mike D’Antoni and the Rockets can do to better get him going?

Tune in to Thursday’s show for more analysis.

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Report: Rockets believe NBA could change Tuesday’s result vs. Spurs

Based on a blown call on James Harden’s made dunk, the Rockets reportedly believe the NBA could change the result of Tuesday’s game.

The Houston Rockets reportedly think NBA executives could change the result of Tuesday’s double-overtime loss in San Antonio, either by awarding them a victory or ordering the game to be replayed from the moment of James Harden‘s uncounted dunk with 7:50 left in regulation.

The news was repored early Wednesday morning by ESPN‘s Tim MacMahon, citing a source close to the Rockets. Since the game ultimately went to overtime, those two points were very much impactful.

If the NBA league office awards Houston the win, the Rockets would be 14-6 on the season, rather than 13-7. If a replay occurs, the Rockets would have a 15-point lead with under eight minutes left whenever the game is replayed — which would make them substantial favorites.

The officials inexplicably missed the call on the floor, while also denying head coach Mike D’Antoni and the Rockets the opportunity to review it.

Officiating crew chief James Capers said postgame that the call was reviewable, but that the Rockets did not challenge it within the allowed 30-second window. D’Antoni, however, says the officials were unclear in their explanations to him on what the call actually was — and thus, he didn’t immediately know what to challenge.

Since the controversy occurred well after business hours, expect the NBA to discuss the matter internally on Wednesday. For now, the Rockets are flying to Toronto to prepare for Thursday’s game, coming off what seems to be a bitter defeat in San Antonio in which they blew a 22-point lead.

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Rockets blow 22-point lead in bizarre collapse at San Antonio

James Harden scored 50, but the Houston Rockets somehow blew a 22-point lead Tuesday in a controversial collapse at San Antonio.

The Houston Rockets blew a 22-point lead late in the third quarter and an 8-point lead with under two minutes left in regulation before ultimately falling to host San Antonio in double overtime, 135-133 (box score).

The loss drops the Rockets to 13-7, while improving the Spurs to 8-14.

James Harden led the way with 50 points, but shot just 11-of-38 (28.9%) from the field. He got to 50 in large part by making all 24 of his free-throw attempts, which broke a prior record held by Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins for made foul shots without a miss in a single game.

Russell Westbrook had a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-30 (23.3%) overall. Between the duo, Westbrook and Harden combined for just 18-of-68 shooting (26.4%).

Clint Capela had 20 points (9-of-9 shooting) and 21 rebounds, making it a historic eighth straight game for Houston’s starting center with 19 or more rebounds. That’s the longest such strea since 1983.

Second-year Spurs prospect Lonnie Walker IV, who entered Tuesday averaging just 2.5 points per game, led the way for the Spurs with a career-high 28 points in 35 minutes off the bench — including eight straight in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime. Overall, the Rockets allowed 34 points in the fourth quarter to let the Spurs back into the game after once having a commanding lead.

The game will also be remembered for a bizarre missed call in the fourth quarter, when Harden threw down a dunk in transition only to have it not counted. Those two points certainly ended up being significant, given that the teams finished tied after that period.

Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters postgame that he was not given a clear explanation by the NBA’s on-court officials on what the call was or why he was not allowed to challenge it.

The Rockets have a day off Wednesday to potentially recompose themselves before playing a tough road game Thursday at the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors, who enter at 15-5.

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