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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Three days after being scolded by coach Gregg
Popovich for lack of effort, the San Antonio Spurs responded with
one of their best games of the season, a 116-92 rout of the Houston
Rockets on Friday night.
|  | | Tim Duncan tries to draw a charging call on Houston's Kenny Thomas. |
Tim Duncan scored 19 points to lead the Spurs to their seventh
straight victory over the Rockets. San Antonio was coming off of a
92-81 loss at Cleveland on Tuesday.
"Obviously we want to get back on track," Popovich said.
"From the beginning, the team deserves a lot of credit. They
played intense on the defensive and offensive level. I'm happy for
them. There were some great individual plays."
Terry Porter added 17 points for San Antonio and David Robinson
had 16. Robinson, who had seven steals against Houston, became the
San Antonio career leader with 1,129, surpassing Alvin Robertson.
"We got to give ourselves credit tonight because we came out
intense. We were a little embarrassed by our outing at Cleveland,"
San Antonio point guard Avery Johnson said. "This was a good game for us."
San Antonio fueled its offense by forcing 24 Houston turnovers,
converting 37 points off Rocket miscues.
"We shot the ball well tonight," said Duncan, who was 9 of 15
from the field. "We kept at it. We pushed the ball up the court
and when you start getting easy baskets, it makes everything
easier."
Houston, which absorbed its worst loss of the season, was led by
Steve Francis' 18 points. Shandon Anderson added 14.
"I was really surprised by the fact that we weren't
competitive," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "They beat us
to a lot of loose balls. I thought we were supposed to be the young
team full of energy. Tonight they ran us off the floor. We couldn't
do anything right."
San Antonio, which never trailed, jumped to a 33-24 lead at the
end of the first quarter as Robinson had 12 points and the Spurs
hit 12-of-20 shots.
Connecting on 22-of-42 shots, San Antonio jumped to a 57-41 halftime lead.
The Spurs continued to stretch the lead in the second half, leading by as many as 34 points, 102-68 on Jaren Jackson's
3-pointer with 8:49 to play.
San Antonio and Houston will play for the final time during the regular season this Sunday in Houston.
"Houston is an unbelievably athletic team, they are scary,"
Popovich said. "It will be a heck of a contest on Sunday. Those
guys are going to come back on us. There is too much of a
rivalry."
Game notes
San Antonio improved to 21-4 at the Alamodome. ... David Robinson left the game with a neck strain late in the first quarter, but returned in the second. ... The Rockets announced on
Friday that guard Moochie Norris had signed a second 10-day
contract. ... San Antonio has won three straight over Houston this
season and seven straight overall, evening the series 60-60.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 104
Cleveland 75
Denver 95
Toronto 91
Charlotte 115
LA Clippers 87
New Jersey 91
Miami 84
LA Lakers 107
Orlando 99
Minnesota 103
Vancouver 91
San Antonio 116
Houston 92
Phoenix 85
Atlanta 73
Portland 93
Washington 85
Golden State 122
Boston 100
Sacramento 118
Seattle 85
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