For the second game in a row Kyle Anderson got the start, this time in place of the injured Danny Green who is expected to miss a few weeks with a strained left quad. Jonathon Simmons also missed the game with a thigh bruise but the Spurs had the rest of their roster available for this one.
For the Rockets, James Harden missed this contest, as well as Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela and Eric Gordon. So the Rockets were far less than full strength but got a strong performance early from Nene, who was red hot, and scored eight of the Rockets’ first 10 points.