San Antonio Spurs head into regular season with win over Houston Rockets
Recap
The San Antonio Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich decided last week that he would start 21-year-old DeJuan Blair in their season opener on 27 October against the Indiana Pacers.
The 2009 NBA second round draft pick did not disappoint his coach last night leading his team to a 111-103 victory over the Houston Rockets Thursday night at the AT&T centre.
Blair led his team in scoring with 17 points, 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Blair shot eight for 13 from the field and picked up eight rebounds in his 29 minutes on court.
Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson each added 16 points of their own. Parker shot five for nine from the field and made all six of his free throws, while Jefferson had a good shooting night going five for seven from the field and making three out of his four
three-point attempts.
Blair spoke of his performance after the game saying, “The game was just coming to me. I was taking my time and letting the game come to me. Not thinking, just playing. I tend to think too much. I just got to keep rolling.”
Blair, a second year player, averages 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds this pre-season, which is up from his career averages of 7.8 points and 6.4 rebounds.
Kevin Martin led the way for the Rockets getting 21 points in only 17 minutes of game time. Martin shot five for eight from the field and four for five from three-point range. Also, Martin made all five of his free throw attempts.
Martin scored 11 of his points at the end the first quarter, allowing the Rockets to take an early 28-19 lead after the first quarter.
The Rockets were missing key player Yao Ming who averages 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds this pre-season. Chuck Hayes, with an injured ankle, and Jared Jeffries also missed the game.
The Spurs found themselves down after the first quarter partly due to the fact that they gave up the ball 12 times in the first 12 minutes of play. Spurs’ guard Tony Parker commented on their slow start after the game saying, “We had a rough start, starting
with me, with turnovers. The second quarter we played better and made a run at the end, and the second half we played better defence and made some shots.”
The Spurs mounted a comeback after waking up and outscored their opponents in the final three quarters.
The Spurs finish their pre-season with a four-win and three-loss record. Their next game will be their season opener next Wednesday against the Pacers.
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