Overachievers v underachievers as San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets clash in the NBA
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Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks past Bennedict Mathurin of the Los Angeles Clippers in the second half at Frost Bank Center.
PHOTO: AFP
SAN ANTONIO – There is no doubt that the San Antonio Spurs are ahead of schedule in their move back into the upper echelons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), pushing their way towards the top of the Western Conference standings as the season turns toward its fourth quarter.
But what about the Houston Rockets, who were supposed to be contenders this season but have underachieved?
The disparity will be on display when the Spurs and Rockets square off on March 8 (March 9 morning, Singapore time) in San Antonio in a clash between Texas rivals.
San Antonio are in second place in the West, behind only defending champions Oklahoma City. They are 6.5 games clear of third-place Houston with 19 contests left to play.
The Spurs return to the court after a rousing 116-112 comeback home win over the Los Angeles Clippers, having gone behind by 25 points.
Centre Victor Wembanyama racked up 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as the team clinched their third win in a row and their 14th victory in their past 15 games.
“The competitive response and the character the guys showed to really try to band together and fight through the mental, physical and emotional fatigue was commendable,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the win which came just after another hard-fought victory over Eastern Conference leaders Detroit Pistons.
Wembanyama added: “(My) favourite part is we faced some very different trials over these last two games and we’ve been able to answer the call in every single one of them.”
The Rockets have alternated wins and losses over their past five games and travel to the Alamo City after a 106-99 victory at home over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 6.
Houston won the second game of a back-to-back that started with an overtime loss at home to the Golden State Warriors on March 5.
“We wanted to get that taste out of our mouth from (Thursday) night and at least play with the right effort, play with the right purpose and lock in on tendencies,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said.
The Spurs have won two of the first three games with Houston this season, most recently a 111-99 victory on Jan 28.
In NBA action on March 7, Michael Porter Jr had 30 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Brooklyn Nets rallied from a 23-point deficit to surprise the Pistons 107-105.
Detroit had won five straight against Brooklyn, including a 130-77 thumping on Feb 1. This is their first three-game losing streak of the season.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, claimed a 104-97 home victory over Golden State as star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 27 points.
The Thunder stretched their winning streak to five and became the first team in the NBA this season to win 50 games.
With two free throws in the closing minutes of the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander reached 20 points for the 125th consecutive game.
The guard moved within one game of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record for consecutive games with 20 or more points. REUTERS
