Coming into the second round series against the Rockets, the Spurs knew they had to do two things: defend the arc and score enough to keep up with Houston’s manic offense. They did neither of those things, particularly in the first half, and the result was one of the worst playoff games of the Gregg Popovich era.
The Spurs started the game looking timid, and as shots rolled out for them, the Rockets executed on offense with ease to gain an early 15-6 advantage. Threes continued to fall in for Houston, even on broken plays, while Kawhi Leonard was the only Spur who could get anything to fall on offense.