Player grades from Rockets’ shorthanded loss to the San Antonio Spurs

The Houston Rockets opted to sit several key players on Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, which resulted in some rough performances by Clutch City.

The I-10 rivalry between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs did not live up to the competitiveness of the two previous encounters from this season. From a dramatic referee botch that denied a James Harden dunk in a loss to a close two-point victory back in December, many expected the same in the bubble edition of this match-up. But once reports came out that the Rockets were playing without James Harden, Danuel House, and Eric Gordon it became evident that rest is key for Houston right now.

San Antonio is on the outside looking in for the playoffs, currently sitting at the eleventh seed, trailing behind the red hot Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies. Meanwhile Houston already has their playoff seed clinched and will likely either take on the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Utah Jazz in the first round. Clearly the Spurs needed this game more than the Rockets in order to stay in the bubble and grab a playoff berth.

The Rockets came out of the gate strong and traded buckets with San Antonio, until early turnovers took over the game. After falling into a hole in the second quarter, it appeared Houston had no interest in regaining the lead, as a secondhand effort was displayed. The Spurs would runaway with this one 123-105.

Next: The Starters