Spurs bounce back from big defeat by blowing out Rockets

The San Antonio Spurs bounced back from their worst drubbing in three years by getting back to being themselves.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points with 10 rebounds, as the Spurs trounced the Houston Rockets 130-99 on Wednesday.
San Antonio took it on the chin in Monday’s 120-90 blowout by the Golden State Warriors in a showdown of the NBA’s best.
But the resilient Spurs (39-7) regrouped and took it out on the helpless Rockets for their 34th consecutive home victory, with 25 of them coming this season at Oracle Arena.
“I think after the last game that wasn’t us,” Aldridge said. “I wouldn’t think of a blowout but I knew guys were coming in locked in.
“It was important for us to be ourselves again, to be active and not give up so much easy stuff. I thought we did that. We got back to who we are and played better overall.”
Spurs guard Tony Parker, who finished with 15 points, said the Spurs were anxious to wash away the embarrassing loss from their memories.
“We were motivated and mad at our performance in the last game but you have to forget it as fast as you can and learn from it,” he said. “I think tonight was a great reaction from everybody.”
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green scored 18 points apiece for the Spurs, who led by 20 at halftime en route to the lopsided win, while Tim Duncan sat out for the second straight contest with a sore right knee.
James Harden had 20 points for Houston (25-23), who had won nine of their previous 12 outings.
“Tonight was a learning experience for us, we have to be better prepared against a really good team,” Harden said.
“They haven’t lost at home this season; they got off to a fast start and were feeling really confident about themselves. You can’t give a team that much confidence.”

ELSEWHERE
Golden State Warriors 127, Dallas Mavericks 107: Klay Thompson exploded for a season-high 45 points to offset just 14 by league top scorer Stephen Curry, and the defending champions Warriors (42-4) shot past the Mavericks for their 40th consecutive home victory, with 22 coming this season. Only one team in NBA history, the 1994-95 and 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, have a longer home win streak with 44 in a row. Chandler Parsons had 23 points for Dallas (26-22), who dealt the Warriors one of their four losses this season.
Oklahoma City Thunder 126, Minnesota Timberwolves 123: Kevin Durant dropped in seven of his 27 points in the final two minutes, Russell Westbrook added 24 with 15 assists, and the visiting Thunder (35-13) won for the ninth time the last 10 games after trimming the stubborn Timberwolves. Zach LaVine scored 35 points, Andrew Wiggins added 20 and Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points with 13 boards for Minnesota (14-33), which lost its 17th in the last 20 decisions despite shooting a sizzling 57 per cent from the field.
Boston Celtics 111, Denver Nuggets 103: Avery Bradley matched his season-high with 27 points and the Celtics (26-21) used an 18-1 third-quarter blitz to beat the visiting Nuggets for their fourth straight win. Italy’s Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton netted 23 points apiece in Denver’s (17-29) fourth loss in five games.
Detroit Pistons 108, Philadelphia 76ers 97: Reggie Jackson tossed in 27 points, Andre Drummond had 25 with 18 rebounds, and the Pistons (25-21) outscored the league-worst Sixers (7-40) 36-18 in the fourth quarter to earn the home win.
LA Clippers 85, Atlanta Hawks 83: Jamal Crawford scored 21 points, DeAndre Jordan had 13 with 19 rebounds, and the Clippers (30-16) wrapped up a 3-2 road trip after edging the Hawks for their 14th win in 17 games. Jeff Teague netted 16 points to pace Atlanta (27-20), who committed a season-high 23 turnovers in the loss.
Utah Jazz 102, Charlotte 73: Rodney Hood had 24 points, Gordon Hayward added 22, and the Jazz (20-25) crushed the visiting Hornets (22-24) to avenge a double overtime loss last week.

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