{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
San Antonio 104, Houston 94
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 27, 2016
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #74 Curtis Blair, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #49 Tom Washington
Attendance: 18240

HOUSTON - To a man all the Spurs could talk about was returning to San Antonio, to their own beds and the other trappings of home. They also spent some time discussing and lauding the manner in which they handled business following this long stretch away from the Alamo City.

Forward Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points while his frontcourt counterpart LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in a double-double as the San Antonio Spurs capped their annual "Rodeo Road Trip" with a 104-94 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

The Spurs (50-9) became the second team to reach 50 wins by capping their trip 7-1, their lone loss coming at the Los Angeles Clippers in their first game following the All-Star Game. San Antonio led wire-to-wire, blitzing Houston (29-30) with 66.7 percent shooting in the first quarter.

"That's what we want," Spurs center Tim Duncan said of the road trip results. "It was a great trip for us. I think we got a little better on this trip as a road team. We matured a little bit. Obviously our lineups are changing a little bit with guys out with injuries. All around guys stepped up and kept their focus, so a great end to the trip for us."

Leonard scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, drilling a transition 3-pointer with 39.3 seconds left in the second quarter to provide the Spurs their first fast-break points. Prior to that basket the Spurs had devastated Houston in the half court, passing with flair and recording 14 assists on 21 baskets en route to a 51-31 halftime lead.

San Antonio led by as many as 31, opening a 71-40 lead when Aldridge sank a pair of free throws with 5:00 left in the third quarter. Houston clawed to within 12 points in the fourth quarter but the Spurs kept the Rockets at bay and maintained their double-digit lead throughout.

Rockets guard James Harden helped Houston cut the deficit to 43-31 with a floating jumper at the 3:13 mark of the second, but the Spurs answered with a knockout 16-0 run that bridged the middle periods.

Harden scored a team-high 27 points but missed 15 of 25 shot attempts. His shooting woes were emblematic of the Rockets as a whole, as Houston shot just 41.7 percent despite posting 25 fast-break points.

"We got our shots, we just didn't knock them down," Harden said. "We played with some aggressiveness in the second half, but it was a little bit too late."

Rockets center Dwight Howard added 11 points and 14 rebounds but shot 4 of 11. Reserves Jason Terry and Corey Brewer added 15 points apiece on 11 of 17 shooting as Houston dropped its last three games against the Spurs following a win over San Antonio on Christmas night.

Aldridge finished with 26 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Guard Tony Parker had 15 points and four assists; swingman Kyle Anderson scored 11 points in reserve for the Spurs, who will host Detroit on March 2, their first game at AT&T Center since Feb. 6 against the Lakers.

"I think we've been playing great basketball," Parker said. "This game is always very mental because it's the last game on the road and everybody can't wait to go home. This was a great win; everybody was very focused to go up 30 against Houston. That's tough."

Both Houston and the Spurs attempted 18 field goals in the first quarter, but the Rockets' inability to hit a jump shot proved their undoing. The Rockets missed 13 attempts in the period with all five of their baskets coming in the paint via layups or dunks.

Terry delivered their first perimeter basket with his baseline jumper at the 9:07 mark of the second quarter, and forward Trevor Ariza followed with the Rockets' first 3-pointer with 7:26 left.

But that basket merely cut the deficit to 34-18, and the Spurs held steady before closing the half with an 8-0 spurt to assume total control.

"The first quarter is what got is," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "We just weren't effective enough in the first quarter."

NOTES: Spurs G Manu Ginobili is making incremental progress following testicular surgery on Feb. 4, recently making his way to the court to shoot gingerly, according to coach Gregg Popovich. There is no clear timetable for his return despite initial reports that Ginobili could resume play in a month. ... Rockets C Clint Capela missed his second consecutive game with a right foot sprain. ... Rockets F/C Donatas Motiejunas saw his first action since Dec. 31 following a lengthy recovery from a re-aggravation of the back injury that sidelined him last postseason and for the first 20 games of this season. Motiejunas was traded to the Pistons at the deadline but that trade was revoked by Detroit over Motiejunas' back woes.
Top Game Performances
 
San Antonio   Houston
Kawhi Leonard 27 Scoring James Harden 27
Tim Duncan 6 Assists Trevor Ariza 5
LaMarcus Aldridge 16 Rebounds Dwight Howard 14
LaMarcus Aldridge 8 Free Throws Made Corey Brewer 5
David West 2 Steals Trevor Ariza 2
LaMarcus Aldridge 1 Blocks Trevor Ariza 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Antonio 104 48.7 8-19 22-28 24 43 4 4 14
Houston 94 41.7 8-25 16-22 19 39 4 5 14
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Rockets have a W/L % of .552 after a win and .433 after a loss.
  • San Antonio will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Spurs have a W/L % of .820 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.