Houston Rockets: 2 takeaways from the team’s loss to the Spurs

On Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets fell 128-114 to their cross-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs. Here are two key takeaways from the game.

The Houston Rockets lost their second game of the preseason on Wednesday, falling 128-114 to the San Antonio Spurs. It was a mostly poorly played game from start to finish for the Rockets, who looked uninterested on both offense and defense in the first quarter. As a result, they dug themselves into a 36-22 hole after the opening period.

Houston figured it out on offense in the second half, but they just couldn’t stop San Antonio’s offense. The Spurs, who only made 10 3-pointers compared to Houston’s 21, killed the Rockets in the mid-range and in the paint. San Antonio’s 29-point second period was the team’s lowest scoring quarter of the game, and Houston’s defense simply had no answer.

James Harden finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the team in each category. Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, had an off night. Russ finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but he turned the ball over eight times and committed five fouls. He also shot just 5-for-13 from the field and the Rockets were out scored by 26 points when he was on the floor, a game-low. He did manage to boost his stats by scoring seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, but the game was already over by that point.

It will definitely take some time for Russ to adapt to playing with Houston after spending his entire career with OKC. However, Westbrook isn’t completely healthy, because he has a couple dislocated fingers, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Mike D'Antoni said Russell Westbrook has a couple of dislocated fingers. Russ, who had his right pinky wrapped: "It’s all right. I learned a long time ago when I first got in the league, point guard fingers are always going to be f—ed up. That’s just what it is."

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 17, 2019

With Westbrook’s struggles out of the way, let’s take a look at the two main takeaways from Wednesday’s game.

Next: No. 2