The San Antonio Spurs ended their losing streak with a 121-110 win over the Houston Rockets.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs snapped their two-game losing skid with a win over the Houston Rockets, 121-110. Harrison Barnes led the team with 24 points, five rebounds, and shot 6-9 from the three-point line.
Julian Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama had 22 points each. Devin Vassell added 15, Keldon Johnson finished with eight, and Stephon Castle added 14. Jordan McLaughlin finished with nine points.
The Spurs are 6-2 and will next host the Pelicans on Saturday night, with the return of De’Aaron Fox.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“I was really proud of the response in terms of the physicality and the competitiveness. That’s a team (Houston) that’s going to impose their will and test you for 48 minutes and we saw segments of the game. They’re just big, they’re strong and they dictate a lot of action. And I think a little bit early on, we were on our heels, rightfully so. It’s hard to replicate that or prepare for that when you haven’t seen it. And just really proud of those guys stepping up and making a variety of plays all over the game.”
Wembanyama:
“I think our defense we played good, consistently. I mean we conceded 50 points in the first half I think, which is good. We needed to focus on rebounding and we still got a few offensive rebounds.
“I think early on, obviously, we haven’t played a ton of games yet, but you get some big leads and kind of learn how to work through that. And then, I think playing some closer games, just getting better with late game execution. So each of these games has been a little bit different just in terms of what we’ve needed to do and how we need to execute.”
Champagnie:
“I don’t feel like we did that (playing physical) in the first quarter and 10 minutes. I feel like the first quarter they (Houston) ran the pace. They played harder than us. They dictated a lot. And then in the second half I feel like that’s when we came out and we actually played.”
Keldon Johnson:
“My teammates expect that from me now. They expect the energy. They expect me to go and be on the offensive rebounds. They expect me to fight hard and do the things nobody else wants to do on the court.”
Ime Udoka: