Dejounte Murray had a career-high 33 points and 11 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Houston Rockets 123-120 for their fourth straight win.
The Spurs took control with a 15-2 run in the first quarter and led by as many as 16. The Spurs led 51-35 with 9:08 left in the second quarter, and the Rockets got within 121-120 with 9.6 seconds left.
During clutch time, the Spurs outscored the Rockets 9-6. Murray scored 5 of the Spurs’ 9 on 0 for 2 shooting and 5 for 6 at the line.
Keldon Johnson had 21 points (12 in the paint) and 9 rebounds.
For the Rockets, Jalen Green scored 30 points with 6 3-pointers, and Kevin Porter Jr. added 26 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Josh Christopher had 20 points (12 in the fourth quarter) and 6 assists off the bench. Christopher scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets had 3 20-point scorers.
The Rockets made 20 3-pointers, 6 of them by Green. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds, about 4 more than usual for the shots the Spurs missed. The Spurs outscored the Rockets 72-30 in the paint.