Make That 6-0: Houston Rockets Bury San Antonio Spurs 98-81

The Rockets dominated the Spurs on Thursday night and led the game wire-to-wire after the Spurs missed their first 11 shots of the game. Some media outlets will likely mention that the Spurs were on the second game of a back-to-back. So were the Rockets when they dispatched the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. That’s life in the NBA for all teams.

Even more will be made of Coach Gregg Popovich sitting his two aging stars in Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili — and certainly that’s true. However, the Rockets also pressed on without two starters tonight — Patrick Beverley‘s was out, still nursing a sore hamstring and Terrence Jones was MIA for the second straight game with a thigh bruise.

None of that mattered to Dwight Howard as he led the way with another double-double with 32 points and 16 rebounds. Howard got things started with an alley-oop from James Harden and went on to put up 10 points in the first quarter. It wasn’t a pretty first quarter for either team but the Rockets continued their early season trend of strong defense and held the Spurs to only 15 in the first. Rockets led 18-15.

Nov 6, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard

Jason Terry

(31) reacts after making a basket during the second quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Terry came off the bench in the late first and hit his first three of the game. Terry kept it going in the 2^nd quarter hitting another three on which he was fouled and then sank the free throw for the four-point play giving the Rockets a 24-17 lead.

Terry would total 10 points by the half. Dwight Howard never let up and went to the break with 20 points off his 5^th alley-oop bucket of the game. The team amassed a 16 point lead at the half. 45-29 Rockets.

Unlike last year, Harden and others have gotten better at getting the ball to Howard in the right spots at the right time. The timing is better, the passes have been better and thus far Howard is producing more scoring as a result and has run his average up to 19.6 per game with back to back 25+ games.

Nov 6, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard

Danny Green

(14) shoots during the second quarter as Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

3^rd quarter was much of the same and the Rockets exploded with a 36-point output. Harden chipped in 11 points, including a monster slam at the 6:44 mark. Howard continued to dominate as the Spurs had no answer whatsoever for him and added another 12 points in the quarter. When Howard hit a free throw at the 3:57 in the 3^rd the Rockets had managed a 30-point lead, their largest of the game at 75-45.

With the game well in hand in the 4^th with nine minutes to go, the Rockets were able to clear the bench and get Harden, Howard and Ariza a well-deserved rest for the remainder of the game. Rockets fans were treated to their first glimpse of rookie big man Clint Capela as he made his NBA debut with six minutes remaining. Capela didn’t manage to score and looked a bit lost out there. It’s quite obvious that he has a lot of developing to do to eventually become the low-post threat that he has the potential of becoming.

As expected, play in “garbage time” got sloppy as it usually does. But Troy Daniels got a chance to get some extra minutes and warm up with eight points including two threes. The Spurs closed the gap but the game was never in doubt in the 2^nd half and the Rockets finished with a 17 point win, 98-81 to go to 6-0 on the young season.

The Rockets held the Spurs to only 34.4% from the floor, including 2-for-20 on three-ball as Danny Green, the Spurs best 3 point shooter, went 0-for-6.

The Rockets are still getting relatively little off the bench but did manage to get 16 points from Terry in his best game as a Rocket thus far. Only Terry and Daniels stepped up tonight, although Isaiah Canaan played well in place of starter Patrick Beverley for 12 points in 26 minutes.

Donatas Motiejunas once again struggled as he started in place of Terrence Jones. D-Mo did not score and only managed three rebounds in 25 minutes. Front court depth is the biggest concern if there is one in the early going.

The Rockets have raced out to a great 6-0 start because the starting five is BETTER than it was last year, just as we have predicted here at House of Houston.

While the national media was burying the Rockets at every opportunity in the off-season the Rockets have shown to be better because:

Nov 6, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) reacts after a play during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Spurs 98-81. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Howard is in better health and is focused and driven, Harden’s passing and defense have improved, Beverley has another year under his belt and has improved his three-point shooting, Jones should also continue to improve when he returns in only his 2^nd year as a starter as well and Ariza has been a superb fit.

The Rockets have significantly improved their defense and are sharing the ball with seemingly little regard as to who is the leading scorer is or who has the big game on a given night. They’ve continued to look focused simply on winning as they have mowed through four likely lottery teams to start and then manhandled the Heat and Spurs, two teams likely to end up in the top four of teams in their respective conferences.