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The Houston Rockets secured a comfortable 112-98 win against the sloppy San Antonio Spurs to mark the return of James Harden to the court. The Spurs committed a whopping 20 turnovers and their bench was outperformed 59-38. They still have a lot of work to before the 2020-21 season tips off.
Sloppy start from both Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs
The biggest draw of this game was The Beard who featured in the game for 21 minutes while managing 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Prior to tip-off, an image of Harden started doing the rounds where he was looking rather out of shape.
That didn't stop the 2018 NBA MVP from using his signature step-back three to get his first points for Houston Rockets in the preseason. He looked rather engaged as well, speaking to his teammates regularly during the game.
Despite Harden creating a lot of chances, the Houston Rockets' offense didn't function well, with them making less than 30% of their treys in the first half. The San Antonio Spurs weren't at their best either, and this included DeMar DeRozan who was seen sporting an afro.
Good defense from the Houston Rockets coupled with reckless ball-handling from the San Antonio Spurs allowed the former to rake up several points via turnovers. There weren't too many positives for the Spurs in the first half but rookie Devin Vassell looked fairly confident on both ends of the court.
LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers at half-time with 12 points but the Rockets led the tie 56-55. John Wall looked good for his nine points as well.
San Antonio Spurs get dominated in the second half
![Dejounte Murray in action [Image: Spurs Twitter]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2020/12/586a0-16080913732646-800.jpg)
Entering the second half, the San Antonio Spurs pulled all the renowned guys from the game to allow the youngsters to gain some valuable playing time. They did start off the third quarter hot but eventually fizzled out and Houston Rockets took control of proceedings, particularly with their three-point shooting.
Lonnie Walker kept the ball rolling for the San Antonio Spurs and had 17 points by the end of the third quarter. The turnovers continued to hurt Gregg Popovich's side though.
Disaster struck for Houston Rockets as Chris Clemons went down with a non-contact injury and had to be stretchered off. They still rallied behind the efforts of Ben McLemore and created the needed separation to win the game.
Besides James Harden and John Wall who looked fairly good in limited minutes, rookie Jae'Sean Tate also caught the eye, managing 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with his seven boards.
Also read: Greatest starting 5 coached by Gregg Popovich
