Spurs' Comeback Falls Short vs. Rockets

The San Antonio Spurs found themselves down 21 points to the Houston Rockets, but crawled back, ultimately losing, 106-101 on Monday night. The Spurs got physical early, with Jeremy Sochan goading Jabari Smith Jr. into earning a technical. Unfortunately, the referees deemed Sochan's contact excessive, giving him a technical as well. That set the tone for a physical game in the trenches.

While Victor Wembanyama did not have the best offensive night, finishing with only 14 points, he added 20 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks for good measure.

The Spurs had a rough first half, ultimately finishing with 17 turnovers as a team and allowing the Rockets to shoot 40.5 percent from behind the arc. Jalen Green led the way for Houston for the second straight game, scoring 24 points in the first half on the way to a 36-point performance. The Spurs' scoring effort was led by Jeremy Sochan, with 22 points, although Malaki Branham added 15 points of his own, playing a critical role.

With Tre Jones still nursing an ankle injury, rookie Stephon Castle got to play for 18 minutes. On offense, he could have played better, scoring four points and committing three turnovers of his own, but he pestered Fred VanVleet on defense the entire game.

The Spurs would likely blame their loss on the referees, who picked and chose when to let players head to the line and let them play on with seemingly no pattern or rule. However, the free throw difference in the game was not that big, with the Rockets leading/following 24-21.

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The Spurs will look to bounce back on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are yet to lose a game.

The Spurs will travel to Houston on November 6 and will be looking for revenge.