Spurs Blow Another Big Lead, Fall to Rockets in Summer League
The San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are historical rivals in the Southwest Division. The Spurs have played their I-10 adversary 207 times, the second-most head-to-head meetings with any team in franchise history.
But the two foes met for the first time in Summer League history Monday night at Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas, as the Rockets overcame an 18-point first-half deficit and blitzed to the finish line in a 97-84 win. The Spurs now drop to 0-3 in Vegas with two games left to play.
The Rockets, who improve to 2-1 in Summer League, outscored San Antonio 51-30 in the second half after trailing 54-46 through two quarters. The Spurs had 26 turnovers and shot 37 percent (29-78) from the floor.
No. 20 overall pick Malaki Branham had his best game in Vegas, as he led the Spurs with 20 points on 8-18 shooting to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Darius Days looked impressive once again with his second-straight double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds on 3-7 shooting from deep.
Blake Wesley, who has shined for the Spurs through the first two games, had 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, but was an abysmal 3-20 shooting from the field and 0-7 from 3-point range.
Rockets rookie Tari Eason led all scorers with 22 points. He added 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks in an all-around performance.
Houston second-year guard Josh Christopher finished with 18 points, while No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith had 19 points, nine rebounds, and two steals.
The Spurs were without second-year guard Josh Primo, who was ruled out prior to tipoff after being hit with COVID. He joins No. 9 overall pick Jeremy Sochan as the second player on the Spurs to be ruled out for Summer League due to the virus.
With Primo out, Wesley was the go-to ball-handler once again, something he was tasked with doing the first two games. Despite making some nice passes to open shooters against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Wesley finished with zero assists.
And even in a brutal shooting performance, Monday night was more productive from a passing standpoint for San Antonio's Vegas star, as he found shooters on orchestrated baseline drifts and appeared more willing as a passer, leading to him tying the game-high of four dimes.
The Spurs had a handful of steals that led to breakaways dunks in the first half. The active hands of Wesley were noticeable against a talented Rockets backcourt of TyTy Washington and Christopher.
But Eason's hot night began with a busy first quarter, as he led all scorers with nine points to go along with two steals and a block.
He wasted no time continuing this production at the beginning of the second quarter, as he nailed another 3-pointer from the corner, a spot he's shown comfortability from through three games in Summer League play.
It was the LSU show in the first half, as former Tiger teammates Days (13 points) and Eason (14 points) led all scorers through 20 minutes.
The Rockets ended the half on a 10-0 run after it looked like the Spurs would head into the locker room with a near 20-point lead. Smith Jr. was quiet throughout the first half, but capped off the second quarter with a five-point burst that brought Houston back within single digits after trailing by as many as 18.
Houston's run extended into the third quarter before Smith Jr. hit his third 3-pointer of the game midway through the quarter to give the Rockets their first lead since the end of the first quarter. They kept this momentum up to take a 67-65 through 30 minutes of action. The Spurs had scored just 11 points in the third quarter.
From then on, it was all Houston.
The Rockets' talented trio of Christopher, Eason, and Smith Jr. combined to score the team's last 18 points over the final fives minutes.
Christopher ended things off with an impressive exclamation point, as he windmilled Houston to victory with a thunderous open-floor dunk.
The Spurs drop to 0-3 in Vegas and will look to pick up their first win of Summer League on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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