Spurs 102 - 105 Rockets
Final
  for this game

Martin helps Rockets hold off Spurs

Jan 22, 2012 - 5:24 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Kevin Martin scored a team-high 25 points as the Houston Rockets held off a late surge by the San Antonio Spurs to take a 105-102 victory.

Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic netted 14 points apiece, while Luis Scola, Samuel Dalembert and Patrick Patterson each had 12 as Houston stretched its win streak to six games. It is the longest winning streak for the Rockets since a six-game streak from February 11-26, 2009.

Tiago Splitter had 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for San Antonio, while Tony Parker added 24 points and 13 assists in the Spurs' third loss in four games.

San Antonio fell to 1-6 on the road this season, compared to a 9-1 mark at home.

"Houston is a good basketball team. They're talented, they're deep and they are physical," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "Their big guys are working hard and their roll players are doing a good job."

The Spurs entered the fourth quarter trailing 77-75. After a pair of layups by Splitter around two Dragic free throws knotted the game at 79, Gary Neal gave San Antonio its first lead of the game with a three pointer followed by a long jumper.

That would be the Spurs largest and only lead, though, as the Rockets reeled off a 15-3 run to go ahead, 94-87, with 4 1/2 minutes to play.

Patterson had six points in the swing, which he capped with a layup.

The teams traded buckets over the next two minutes until a late 8-3 spurt by the Spurs brought them within 103-102 on a Richard Jefferson trey with 10.1 seconds left in the game.

Martin was quickly fouled on Houston's next touch and sank his two free throws to give the Rockets a three-point lead.

Then, coming out of a timeout, Neal threw up a three-point shot in the closing second that fell well short of the rim and Lowry grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Houston.

"It was a tough game for us. We knew that playing at home we had to put our energy on the floor and just play hard," said Dragic. "This was a big victory for us. The end was really tight when Jefferson made that 3 pointer, but we were able to make it."

The Rockets took control of the game early, scoring the contest's first nine points. Houston shot 11-for-20 in the first quarter while holding the Spurs to 10-for-24 shooting en route to a 28-23 lead after one.

San Antonio battled back to tie the game at 41 at the midpoint of the second quarter, but Houston outscored San Antonio 14-8 for the remainder of the half to take a 55-49 lead into the break.

Houston took a nine-point lead near the midpoint of the third quarter on the heels of a 13-4 run, but San Antonio rallied to cut the Rockets' advantage to two points entering the final stanza on Parker's jumper as time expired in the third.

Game Notes

Houston improved to 7-1 at home this season...The Rockets hold a 2-1 lead in the season series, with each team winning at home...Neal finished with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Spurs...Dalembert recorded a season-high six blocks in the game.






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