Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs: Player props, injury report and prediction | NBA

The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs conscionable astatine Moody Center successful Austin astatine 2:30am BST connected Saturday, with Kevin Durant backmost connected his aged Texas field and 2 Southwest Division rivals arriving disconnected precise antithetic play openers.

Houston bushed Dallas 128-110 connected Wednesday, portion San Antonio mislaid 116-104 to Oklahoma City connected Tuesday aft Victor Wembanyama changeable 1 for 13 from the field.

It is the archetypal of 3 games the Spurs play astatine the Austin arena this play arsenic portion of the I-35 Series, and San Antonio are the listed location team.

Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs signifier and outlook

Houston's opener was mostly decided by a azygous quarter, with the Rockets winning the 2nd play 38-12 to pb by 32 astatine fractional time.

Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 points each, Alperen Sengun added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet handed retired 11 assists aft missing each of past play with a torn ACL.

Houston won 52 games past play but lone 22 of 41 distant from Toyota Center, and Ime Udoka's broadside past went retired successful the archetypal circular against the Lakers.

San Antonio went the different way, trailing by 26 successful the archetypal fractional earlier opening the 3rd 4th connected a 23-9 run.

Mitch Johnson started De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper unneurotic alongside Devin Vassell and Wembanyama, and the 3 guards combined for 56 points successful a crippled San Antonio mislaid by 12.

Castle scored 24 points connected 9-20 shooting and Harper added 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, which is wherefore the three-guard lineup inactive looks workable contempt the result.

Wembanyama inactive collected 13 rebounds and six blocks connected a nighttime erstwhile his changeable would not fall, and San Antonio's 45 squad rebounds topped the 42 that Houston managed against Dallas.

The Spurs went 62-20 past season, bushed Oklahoma City successful 7 games to triumph the West and past mislaid the NBA Finals to New York successful five, truthful the opener looks much similar a unsmooth nighttime than a informing sign.

Houston changeable 53.4% from the tract against Dallas and made 16 of 36 threes, yet inactive turned the shot implicit 16 times, compared with 14 for San Antonio, truthful the borderline came from shot-making alternatively than shot security.

The numbers supra marque Houston look acold stronger, but 1 crippled cannot abstracted a bully offence from a bully night, and the Spurs clasp the 1 wide borderline connected the boards, truthful the aboriginal Western Conference standings archer america precise little.

Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs squad quality and rotations

Steven Adams carries a game-time determination tag with a calf problem, which leaves Sengun's backup relation uncertain.

VanVleet is disposable for Houston aft his instrumentality from a torn ACL successful the opener, and the fixtures astir this crippled are connected the NBA schedule.

San Antonio are waiting connected Tobias Harris, who missed preseason and the opener with a near calf strain, portion Jayden Quaintance remains retired with a genu problem.

In the lack of immoderate large caller wounded concerns, some teams should instrumentality with their opening-night fives, which would mean Fox, Castle, Harper, Vassell and Wembanyama against VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Durant, Smith and Sengun.

The matchups that could determine Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs

Durant needed lone 16 shots to people 30 against Dallas, and the question is however overmuch of that survives against Wembanyama, who blocked six shots connected a nighttime erstwhile small other went right.

In the backcourt, Fox was the astir utile of San Antonio's 3 guards with 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and the Spurs volition request that steadiness if VanVleet runs the tempo for Houston.

Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs subordinate props

Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs head-to-head history

San Antonio won 3 of the 4 meetings past season, with Houston's lone occurrence a location triumph connected January 20.

The Spurs answered by winning successful Houston 8 days aboriginal and finished the bid with a 25-point triumph connected March 8.

Houston won 3 of 4 successful 2024-25 and the all-time regular-season bid inactive favours the Spurs 122-101, portion Udoka played for San Antonio and spent 7 years connected Gregg Popovich's staff.

Our Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs tips and prediction

San Antonio are the prime due to the fact that the Spurs person beaten Houston comfortably 3 times successful their past 4 meetings, they person much rest, and a squad that changeable that severely successful an opener seldom does truthful twice.

Houston's rout of Dallas deserves respect, but it was built connected 1 quarter, and a Spurs broadside that rebounds and shoots good usually are backed to look victorious.