A packed sports weekend in Austin tipped off Friday night with the San Antonio Spurs delivering a stronger overall performance but falling short in a 114–110 loss to the Houston Rockets at Moody Center. The gave the Spurs their second straight loss after they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their season opener on Tuesday.
“We haven’t been sharp, so I really commend the group tonight. I thought our competitiveness and our effort was A-plus,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said after the game.
“It was good to see that our habits had improved since game one. But we have to keep putting the energy into that stuff.”
Victor Wembanyama rebounded from a poor outing on Tuesday to score 25 points on 9-21 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds, and two blocks. With San Antonio trailing by two, the Spurs called timeout to draw up the last play. De’Aaron Fox found Wemby inside, but as he turned to shoot, Amen Thompson made a game-sealing block to win the game for Houston.
De’Aaron Fox continues to look healthy as ever since arriving in San Antonio, finishing with 19 points, nine assists, and two steals. Dylan Harper turned it on in the second half as he scored 20 points on 53 percent shooting. Stephon Castle added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
“I feel like we have a lot of lapses on defense. I raise my hand to that. I feel like I, and the team, we’ve all got to get better,” Harper said.
After the game, Wembanyama was asked if he would do anything different on that final shot.
“I would have dunked,” he replied.
San Antonio had no answer for Alperen Sengun, who finished with 29 points and seven rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Coach Johnson threw everyone from Wemby to Luke Kornet, but the Turkish center was on a mission and could not be stopped. Kevin Durant and Thompson each added 20 for the Rockets, who improved to 2-0 to start the young season.
Still, despite the winless start to the season for the Spurs, they still remain confident.
“As the season goes on, we’re going to get more comfortable playing with different lineups that are out there. And I feel like when we get deeper in the season, I think we’re going to look like a completely different team,“ Harper said.
Game Notes
- Victor Wembanyama may have rebounded from a poor season opener, but there is something still off about his start to the season. He is shooting 10-for-34 through two games, including 2-for-10 (20%) from three-point range. After his postseason last season, I was expect better from him to begin the new campaign.
- While fans may question the three-guard lineup, it is proving to be successful. It was the biggest positive factor in Tuesday’s loss for the Spurs, and Friday saw Harper, Fox, and Castle combine for 54 points.
- Luke Kornet has had his struggles to start the season, which is a cause for some caution. He has not looked the same since the Western Conference Finals.
- No Cooper Flagg for the Mavericks tomorrow. This might be the best chance for San Antonio to get a win on the opening week.
