Three Takeaways from the Rockets' Comeback Win over the Spurs

The Houston Rockets faced off against an inter-state rival in the San Antonio Spurs on Tueday night, desperately needing a conference win to keep their win-streak alive.

Ultimately, Houston got just that, seeing their biggest come-from-behind effort of the season to take down Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, 111-106.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Spurs coast to 70-point first half behind Julian Champagnie

San Antonio got off to a lightning-quick start, jumping out to an arm’s length lead over Houston.

It was largely due to the sheer scoring dominance from wing Julian Champagne, who saw a career half of play. He matched Wembanyama’s 10 shots in the first half, going for 21 points on a blistering 6-for-10 3-point shooting. He’s averaged just 11 points per game on the season so far, effectively doubling that in just a half of play.

The Spurs played solidly offensively in the first half of play, though Champagne’s added production helped them grab 70 points and a 10-point lead over the Rockets entering the break.

He only slowed down some in the second half, eventually finishing with 27 points in total.

Sheppard, Smith explode in second half to will Rockets back into it

It was clear in the first half the Rockets needed a few things: more defensive intensity, and another scoring punch alongside Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

They got the latter of those things in second-year guard Reed Sheppard, who exploded in the second half to will Houston back into the game.

Sheppard’s handling presence along was much-needed, not to mention he went for a team-high 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting, spacing the floor with four triples. He played tough defense despite his size with a steal and block apiece, and added a play-making punch, primarily alongside Durant.

With Sheppard in, the Rockets went on a 15-2 run, crashing back into the game with some heroics from their bench guard.

Jabari Smith Jr. saw a slower start to the game, but ulimately got going, and was pivotal to the team's win. He hit big shot after big shot down the stretch, hitting multiple go-ahead shots with the game on the line.

Houston limited Victor Wembanyama

Despite a few other Spurs getting going on the offensive end, the Spurs did a good job of limiting superstar Victor Wembanyama the entirety of the game.

Wembanyama scored just 14 points on 5-for-21 shooting, failing to hit a triple on seven tries. He added eight rebounds and two assists, but generally saw one of the lower outputs of his season.

With Houston’s 7-footer in Steven Adams now out for the foreseeable future, many wondered how they would contend with Wembanyama’s size, but they did well all things considered.