Jalen Green scores 34 points and Rockets beat Spurs 106-101 to split 2-game set

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jalen Green scored 34 points and the Houston Rockets never trailed in a 106-101 victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Jabari Smith added 17 points and Alperen Sengun had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Houston.

The Rockets rebounded from a 109-106 loss to the Spurs on Saturday to close out a two-game set in San Antonio.

Jeremy Sochan had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Wembanyama had 12 points and 18 rebounds for the Spurs.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston gave up six consecutive points to allow San Antonio to get within 101-99 with 36 seconds remaining. Veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, who was 3 for 13 from the field at the time, calmly drained a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining. VanVleet finished with 11 points.

Spurs: Chris Paul had 16 points after scoring a combined six in San Antonio’s first two games. It was his highest-scoring game since he had 19 points against the Spurs on March 11 while with Golden State. Paul had just three assists after averaging 8.5 in his first two games.

Key moment

San Antonio missed five consecutive shots on one possession in the third quarter, including four at near point-blank range. Sochan opened the possession by missing a floater. Keldon Johnson then missed a 3-pointer, Sochan missed a hook shot, Zach Collins missed a 3-pointer and Sochan ended the futility by missing a layup. After failing to secure the previous four rebounds, Houston gained possession and quickly drove down the court to score on a hook shot by Steven Adams.

Key stat

After shooting 60% in the opening period on Saturday, San Antonio shot 32% in the first quarter Monday and fell behind 29-15.

Up next

The Rockets visit Dallas on Thursday and the Spurs play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

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