Spurs suffer tough loss to Rockets, falling 100
HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets put on a commanding performance against the San Antonio Spurs, securing a 127-100 victory Wednesday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.
From the outset, the Rockets set the pace, leading by as much as 25 points at halftime.
"I feel like in all the games we played so far, we've come out with with some aggression," said Spurs wing Julian Champagnie. "It's never been that bad of a start. Hopefully, we will respond next game. We have to respond next game." That next game is tonight when the Spurs return to the Frost Bank Center to play the Portland Trail Blazers.
"There's no choice," said Champagnie. "We can't come out like that. If we start like that, everything's going to do that to us no matter what team. And even if they throw the 1st punch, we got to we got to fight back. So better start next game for sure."
The Spurs looked and played out of sync during that opening half, which saw rookie Stephon Castle make his first career start in place of the injured Jeremy Sochan.
Meanwhile, as the Spurs struggled to find their rhythm and couldn't close the gap, Houston played their most dominant game of their young season.
Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green were the top scorers for the Rockets, each contributing 21 points. Alperen engün added to the score sheet with 16 points, showing versatility and unmatched physicality over several Spurs players, particularly Victor Wembanyama.
Despite leading the Spurs with 15 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, Wembanyama continues to struggle when teams like Houston throw shorter more defensively active players at him, especially in tandem while double-teaming him. Wembanyama saw his shooting percentage from long distances continue to suffer after attempting six long-distance shots but connecting only one. Worse than that, Wembanyama managed only one offensive rebound and led the team with four turnovers- three of those in the opening minutes of play.
"He just can't get to his spots as easily as probably he would like," explained Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson. "They're physical. I think that's what we knew coming in. They're good at it. We've tried to give Victor and the whole team some solutions to help them with that, put them in spots, and it's something we just gotta keep working on."
The Spurs were outscored 66-46 in the paint and faced a tough challenge without their best defender, Jeremy Sochan. The Rockets took advantage, and at one point, swelled their lead to 27 points before the bench players were rotated in with about six and a half minutes left in the game.
Overall, the Spurs simply failed to match the Rockets' high energy as a whole although some players like Blake Wesley and Sidy Cissoko tried to make the most of the limited minutes they were given, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
The Spurs' record now drops to 3-5 for the season, whereas the Rockets improve to 5-3. San Antonio will be looking for ways to bounce back tonight against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. The Scheduled tip-off time is 8:00 PM (CST) at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
Meanwhile, the Rockets are set to face the tough Oklahoma City Thunder- who dropped their first game of the season against the Denver Nuggets during a 124-122 thriller last night.
