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The Spurs face the Rockets for the third time this season, a 121-110 Spurs victory on November 7 and a 111-106 loss where the Rockets shut down the Spurs in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 29-14 in the final frame. The Spurs’ offensive collapse in the fourth quarter of that second game has caused quite a bit of concern for fans of the Silver and Black, as it showed how the team can be disrupted by physical play, especially in the paint. The Spurs will have to come up with a response tonight, because if the fourth quarter is turned into a wrestling match between Alperen Sengun and Victor Wembanyama, it’s likely that Houston could come out on top again.
The Spurs will have to play more of a space and pace game to counter the grab and grind defense of the Space City gladiators tonight, and not leave Victor one on one against Sengun without help from his teammates. The Rockets are really clicking on offense, with both Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant scoring 33 in their 108-99 victory over the Grizzlies on Monday night, so the Spurs defense will also be tested tonight. They can’t forget about Reed Sheppard, who burned the Spurs for 21 points in the previous contest coming off the bench.
The whole team looked a little off in the loss to the Pelicans a few days ago, where they forgot to play until late in the game and burned all their energy in catching up and had nothing left to finish. They can’t beat the Rockets by playing 1/3rd of a game, as they attempted to do to the Pelicans. Let’s see if the Spurs can get on a roll going into the All Star Break, just a little over two weeks and eight games away. After tonight, the Spurs have a few days of before they face the Hornets in Charlotte, who have been very dangerous lately. Let’s GO SPURS!!
Game Prediction:
Mitch Johnson is fired at halftime by a Pounding the Rock fan poll and is replaced in the second half with player-coach Jeremy Sochan. This is reversed at the end of the third quarter when it is determined that 75% of the votes were cast by 4 users using multiple aliases.
San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets
January 28, 2026 | 8:30 PM CT
Streaming: ESPN app
TV: ESPN
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