Dominant first quarter evaporates. See how the Spurs' pressure exposed the Rockets' offensive unraveling after halftime.
Houston opened the night against San Antonio playing borderline perfect basketball. The Rockets scored 36 points on 60-percent shooting, hit 4-of-8 from three, and assisted on 11 of their 15 made field goals.
Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün combined for 20 points in the opening frame alone, and Houston led by double digits while posting a ten-point margin in twelve minutes.
Everything worked because everything was connected.
That connectivity started to loosen in the second quarter. Houston still scored 26 points, but the cracks showed in how they got there. The Rockets’ field-goal percentage dipped, the ball stuck, and San Antonio began flipping possessions with pressure instead of precision. The Spurs won the quarter on effort plays- offensive rebounds, loose balls, second chances- and went into halftime trailing but controlling the tone.
By the break, the warning signs were already flashing. San Antonio had started to tilt the game inside, while Houston’s advantage relied almost entirely on shot-making.
After halftime, the floor fell out.
Houston scored just 37 total points in the second half- 24 in the third, 13 in the fourth- and shot 28.3-percent after the break. They made one three-pointer in the final two quarters (1-for-6), while San Antonio continued to live at the rim and the line. The Spurs finished the game with 72 points in the paint, compared to Houston’s 48, and turned every Rockets miss into downhill pressure.
The possession battle swung hard. San Antonio forced 15 turnovers, converted 21 fast-break points, and dominated bench production 38-14. Houston, by contrast, managed just five fast-break points all night and saw its offensive variety disappear once the pace flipped.
This wasn’t a star problem. Durant finished with 13 first-half points, Şengün added 14 by halftime, and Amen Thompson contributed across the box score, including a couple of steals.
But once San Antonio locked in defensively, Houston stopped generating counters. The assist numbers fell. The spacing shrank. What had been collective offense turned into isolated survival possessions, with Amen racking up 16 attempts himself.
San Antonio didn’t outshoot Houston from deep after the break- both teams finished under 18-percent from three- but the Spurs won everywhere else. They outscored the Rockets 57-37 after halftime, committed fewer late-game mistakes, and consistently punished Houston for failing to reset their identity once Plan A faded.
That’s the real takeaway.
Houston showed, very clearly, how high the ceiling is when rhythm and execution align. They also showed how quickly things unravel when the game shifts and discipline doesn’t follow.
The first quarter proved the Rockets can dictate. The second half proved dictation only matters if it lasts.