The San Antonio Spurs come into this game off a tough loss in which they took the New Orleans Pelicans lightly (sound familiar?) and despite a furious comeback were unable to get the win at home. They\u2019ve had two days to stew over that loss and get on a plane for a quick trip to Houston.<\/p>\n
The Houston Rockets are coming off a tougher-than-expected win against an inferior opponent. That Houston struggled against the decimated-by-injury Memphis Grizzlies is not a surprise, but the whole winning part of the equation is a welcome one. Houston has had one day off since then.<\/p>\n
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So expect the Spurs to start the game pissed off and in high gear. Expect Houston to come out slowly as usual and depend on the bench (read: Reed Sheppard) to dig them out of any early holes. Further complicating matters for Houston is that the Rockets will head to Atlanta right after this game (which has a late start, mind you). The Spurs don\u2019t play again until Saturday. So if San Antonio races out to an early lead as I expect, Houston may waive the white flag early. But if Houston takes control, it\u2019s unlikely that the Spurs will allow the game to slip away. Basically, tonight is not a schedule loss, but it is a schedule excuse.<\/p>\n
These teams wrap up their season series in San Antonio in March. Whoever loses tonight\u2019s game is going to have to circle that contest on the calendar.<\/p>\n
Tip-off<\/p>\n
8:30pm CT<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
How To Watch<\/p>\n
Space City Home Network, ESPN<\/p>\n
Injury ReportRockets<\/p>\n
Steven Adams: OUT<\/p>\n
Spurs<\/p>\n
Jeremy Sochan: GTD<\/p>\n
David Jones Garcia: GTD<\/p>\n
The Line (as of this post)<\/p>\n
N\/A<\/p>\n