Game ID: 22400094
Houston Rockets @ San Antonio Spurs
Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 8:30 PM ET
Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
SAS 38 24 25 22 109HOU 31 10 28 37 106
HOU @ SAS ScoutingHOU @ SAS Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
SAS availability going into 10/24 · season opener
full strength
SAS availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 10/28 · 1 day's rest
full strength
SAS availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's restOUT Jones missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Mamukelashvili missed 2 since 10/26, returns tonight: 8 min (70% of 11)
OUT Bassey missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Sochan 25 to 32 min over the last 3
SAS availability going into 10/31 · back-to-backOUT Jones missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Bassey missed 3 since 10/26, returns tonight: 0 min (5% of 10)
BACK Mamukelashvili back 10/30 after 2, 8 min since (70% of 11)
NEW Sochan 25 to 32 min over the last 4
SAS availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restOUT Jones missed 4 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Mamukelashvili back 10/30 after 2, 9 min since (83% of 11)
BACK Bassey back 10/31 after 3, 0 min since (5% of 10)
NEW Sochan 25 to 32 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 10/23 · season opener
full strength
HOU availability going into 10/25 · 1 day's rest
full strength
HOU availability going into 10/26 · back-to-backOUT Dante missed 2 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 2 since 10/23, out tonight
HOU availability going into 10/28 · 1 day's restOUT Dante missed 3 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 3 since 10/23, out tonight
HOU availability going into 10/31 · 2 days' restOUT Dante missed 4 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Jef. Green missed 4 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Tate missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
HOU availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restOUT Dante missed 5 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 3 since 10/26, returns tonight: 16 min (130% of 13)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 10/28, returns tonight: 5 min (45% of 12)
OUT Jef. Green missed 5 since 10/23, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 12)
OUT Tate missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
HOU availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Dante missed 6 since 10/23, out tonight
OUT Tate missed 4 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/02 after 3, 16 min since (130% of 13)
BACK Landale back 11/02 after 2, 5 min since (45% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 11/02 after 5, 3 min since (27% of 12)
10/24 @ DAL 109-120 — SAS notes
SAS lost 109-120. SAS shot 45% (39 of 86) to DAL's 41%, 12 of 36 from three. SAS turned it over 19 times to DAL's 9, and DAL turned those into 9 steals. Champagnie led with 18 (7 of 12, 4 of 8 from three); Sochan added 18, Barnes 17. Q1 was theirs, 22-20, but the other 3 periods went 100-87 against them. Paul's -21 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/26 vs HOU 109-106 — SAS notes
SAS won 109-106. SAS shot 49% (39 of 79) to HOU's 41%, 8 of 20 from three, and went to the line 28 times to HOU's 21 — 23 points from the stripe to their 17. SAS turned it over 17 times to HOU's 10, and HOU turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 49-34 for them. Wembanyama led with 29 (10 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Sochan added 17, Johnson 16. The hinge was Q2, 24-10: a lead of 7 became 21.
11/02 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 18 and Sochan at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Jones (4 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 30 and Randle at 23 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 40 percent from three to San Antonio's 32 and the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-5 a night and Minnesota minus-1. Call it San Antonio 110, Minnesota 107, Minnesota keeping it close.
10/23 vs CHA 105-110 — HOU notes
HOU lost 105-110. HOU took 18 more shots (103 to 85), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 37% to CHA's 45%, 13 of 43 from three. HOU turned it over 8 times to CHA's 16. The glass went 43-56 against them. Green led with 28 (9 of 23, 5 of 15 from three); Sengun added 25, VanVleet 14. Q2 was theirs, 34-28, but the other 3 periods went 82-71 against them. They led by as many as 18. Thompson's -19 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/25 vs MEM 128-108 — HOU notes
HOU won 128-108. HOU shot 44% (43 of 98) to MEM's 42%, 17 of 43 from three. The glass went 64-43 for them. Green led with 22 (8 of 21, 4 of 8 from three, 2 of 6 at the line); Brooks added 18, Sengun 16. The hinge was Q3, 39-18: HOU came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 15, and the lead reached 22. HOU trailed 59-65 at the half and won the second half 69-43. Green was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
10/26 @ SAS 106-109 — HOU notes
HOU lost 106-109. HOU took 13 more shots (92 to 79), but shot 41% to SAS's 49%, 13 of 41 from three, and got to the line 21 times to SAS's 28. HOU turned it over 10 times to SAS's 17. The glass went 34-49 against them. Green led with 29 (10 of 22, 3 of 10 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); VanVleet added 18, Brooks 16. Q4 was theirs, 37-22, the deficit cut from 18 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 87-69 against them. Thompson's -12 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/02 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 106, shooting 41 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Green at 28 and Sengun at 15 a game. One day's rest. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Hield at 21 and Wiggins at 20 a game. Without Curry (2 straight), Wiggins (2 straight), Melton (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Houston takes 26 free throws a game to Golden State's 17 and the arc, Golden State at 39 percent from three to Houston's 33. Call it Golden State 112, Houston 106.
11/04 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 109, shooting 42 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Green at 23 and Smith Jr. at 15 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 109, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brunson at 25 and Towns at 22 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 42 percent from three to Houston's 34 and the line, where Houston takes 26 free throws a game to New York's 19. Call it Houston 113, New York 112, New York keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JS J. Smith Jr.
JG Ja. Green
RS R. Sheppard
TE T. Eason
SASBW B. Wesley
CP C. Paul
HB H. Barnes
JC J. Champagnie
JS J. Sochan
KJ K. Johnson
MB M. Branham
SC S. Castle
VW V. Wembanyama
ZC Z. Collins
HOU/SAS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Wembanyama, Sochan help Spurs fend out hard-charging Rockets to win home opener, 109-106
SAN ANTONIO -- — Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Houston Rockets 109-106 on Saturday night in their home opener.
Wembanyama added seven rebounds and three blocks while shooting 10 for 17 from the field.
Chris Paul added three points and nine assists, including a drive and feed to Sochan for an open layup that put San Antonio up 104-99 with 1:35 remaining.
After trailing by 22 points in the first half, Houston was within one possession for much of the final minutes. The Rockets went on a 21-8 run in the opening six minutes of the final quarter, turning an 18-point deficit into a 95-90 lead for San Antonio.
Jalen Green had 27 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet added 18 and Dillon Brooks had 16.
Takeaways Rockets: Houston wasted a good finish with a poor start. After shooting 34% through three quarters, including 17% in the second period, the Rockets shot 60% in the final quarter.
Spurs: San Antonio went 2 for 13 on 3-pointers after opening the game 6 for 7.
Key moment After struggling mightily at times last season to get the ball into Wembanyama’s hands around the rim, a pair of passes from Paul yielded much promise and thunderous celebrations. Paul’s first lob resulted in an alley-oop dunk for Wembanyama with 2:12 remaining in the first half that put the Spurs up 57-38. Paul and Wembanyama repeated the alley-oop dunk a minute later, giving the Spurs a 59-38 advantage.
Key stat San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has stressed the need for his team to be more physical and the Spurs responded, outrebounding Houston 57-46.
Up next The Rockets face the Spurs again on Monday to close out a two-game set in San Antonio.