The Spurs didn't have Kawhi Leonard (ankle) for Game 6 of their NBA Western Conference playoff series in Houston. It didn't matter
Leonard reportedly wanted to play, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose to hold out his star player to ensure his health for a potential Game 7 in San Antonio, and for the rest of the playoffs. And there will be a rest of the playoffs after the underdog Spurs (+8.5) routed the Rockets 114-75 in Houston on Thursday night.
SN has all the stats from Game 6, and the highlights from the contest are below.
NBA playoffs: Spurs vs. Rockets score, updates
Spurs vs. Rockets, Game 6
10:20: END OF THE FOURTH QUARTER: Spurs 114, Rockets 75. San Antonio advances to the Western Conference finals against the top-seeded Warriors.
10:17: TWOOOOO MINUTES REMAINING IN THE ROCKETS' SEASON.
10:15: Harden exits with 3:15 to play. He finishes with 10 points, seven assists, six turnovers (and six fouls).
10:13: The Spurs' third unit is in against most of the Rockets' starters, including Harden.
10:04: Hello, garbage time: Under six to play, Spurs lead 104-72. Time to work on that Spurs-Warriors preview.
9:57: Garbage time rapidly approaches. The Spurs are up 94-66 at the first TV timeout of the quarter.
9:51: ESPN puts up a graphic showing that the biggest fourth-quarter playoff comeback is 21 points. The Spurs immediately stretch the lead back to 25.
9:47: END OF THE THIRD QUARTER. Spurs 87, Rockets 63. If you forgot that the Spurs also have LaMarcus Aldridge, well . . .
Aldridge leads San Antonio with 28 points and 11 boards. Harden update: He now has 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and six turnovers.
9:43: Kyle Anderson lobs to Dejounte Murray, and the Spurs go back up by 25 after a Rockets mini-run.
9:39: Ariza and Danny Green get tangled up on the sideline chasing a loose ball. Ariza sort of swings his arm toward Green. Both players receive techicals.
9:35: We might have just seen the oldest pass-basket connection in NBA history: Ginobili (39) to Gasol (36).
9:30: Ariza follows with a 3 and Pop calls a quick TO with the Spurs up 71-49.
9:29: An Eric Gordon sighting! The Rockets guard is on the scoresheet with a 3.
9:25: Timeout, Rockets, after consecutive Aldridge buckets put the Spurs up 69-43. Aldridge has 22 for the game.
9:21: The second half is under way. To review, here's James Harden's first-half shot chart:
9:03: HALFTIME: Spurs 61, Rockets 42. San Antonio shot 56 percent from the floor, Houston 39 percent.
9:01: Harden is back on the bench with three fouls.
8:57: Timeout with four minutes to go in the half. The Spurs are up 53-35. Harden has as many turnovers as points (five). He has attempted just two field goals.
8:52: An extra pass from Gasol leads to a LaMarcus Aldridge elbow jumper. Spurs, man.
8:47: Another Simmons baseline J, and it's 50-29. Harden responds with a 3.
8:44: Harden is back in.
8:42: Timeout, Rockets, after a Simmons bucket gives the Spurs a 44-26 lead. San Antonio has outscored Houston 13-2 over the first three minutes of the quarter with Harden resting.
8:37: Sam Dekker heat check scrapes the rim.
8:36: Pop played nice with Doris Burke during the between-quarters ESPN interview. Pop respects Doris.
8:34: END OF THE FIRST QUARTER: Spurs 31, Rockets 24.
8:33: Houston's Sam Dekker gets the 3 game going with back-to-back treys. San Antonio was slow to rotate each time.
8:31: Manu Ginobili heat check, off the back iron and over the backboard.
8:30: Houston's 3s-and-layups offense has been mostly layups, thanks in large part to the Spurs' aggressive perimeter defense. Houston has attempted four 3-pointers in the first 10 1/2 minutes. It has made one, by Trevor Ariza. This is a team that has attempted 38.3 3s in its previous 10 playoff games.
8:24: This is turning into the Jonathon Simmons Game; now a 3 from the left wing.
8:22: Simmons drives the middle of the lane and YAMS with both hands.
8:18: TV timeout; Spurs up 14-11.
8:16: James Harden is guarding Pau Gasol in the post, and Harden is actually defending.
8:13: Leonard's replacement, Simmons, makes his first basket, a 2 from the left baseline.
8:09: Late-arriving crowd for this 7 p.m. CT start in H-Town. Lots of red-covered empty seats in the lower bowl. Maybe they're watching Astros-Yankees on TV.
8:08: Jonathon Simmons is out for the opening tip, so no shenanigans with Kawhi.
