San Antonio Spurs: Player Grades in Win Over Houston Rockets

A. Cory Joseph is no Tony Parker but he did an admirable job filling in for the injured Spurs star once again. Joseph finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists. He also played solid defense, forcing Rockets starting point guard Patrick Beverley into an abysmal 2-of-10 shooting night. The only area to knock Joseph in this one would be in the turnover department. He committed three giveaways in the game, not exactly ideal when you only dish out four assists. Overall though, a nice performance by the former Texas Longhorn.. PG. San Antonio Spurs. CORY JOSEPH

A+. In what has become a very common theme for the Spurs, Danny Green once again put on his hero mask to lead San Antonio to victory. The shooting guard had another impressive outing, finishing with 24 points, four rebounds, and three assists. But wait, there’s more! Green also recorded five steals and went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe,with four of those free throws coming in the final minute to help seal the win for the Spurs. Did we also mention that his defense helped force James Harden into nine turnovers and a game low plus-minus, -14?. SG. San Antonio Spurs. DANNY GREEN

D. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich inserted Marco Belinelli into the starting lineup in the hopes that the Italian swingman would be a more effective replacement than Kyle Anderson while Kawhi Leonard is out with injury. So much for that plan. Belinelli struggled in what was his fifth start of the season, scoring only eight points on a poor 2-of-11 shooting night. Those eight points would not usually warrant such a bad grade, but, the fact that he shot poorly and also logged nearly 31 minutes make it impossible to not factor into his grade.. SF. San Antonio Spurs. MARCO BELINELLI

A-. Tim Duncan had the easiest matchup of the night, facing up against the Rockets new addition Josh Smith who probably still had not developed any chemistry with his teammates, and “The Big Fundamental” took advantage. Duncan was great in this one posting a well-rounded stat line of 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. He also gave Josh Smith all sorts of trouble, forcing Houston’s newest player into an awful 2-of-7 shooting night that included four turnovers. Duncan did not record the double-double which would have tied him with Karl Malone for fifth all-time, but, I think Spurs fans will be more than satisfied with his performance on Sunday night.. PF. San Antonio Spurs. TIM DUNCAN

D. Tiago Splitter recorded his sixth start of the season but showed he still has a little ways to go to get back to being a good presence down low for San Antonio. Splitter struggled from the field in this one, shooting 2-of-8 on the night. He was also dominated by Dwight Howard who finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds. Although it seemed like a night to forget for Splitter, there were some positive takeaways, most notably his three blocks he recorded against the Rockets. It is going to take some time for Splitter to get back to being a lock down defender down low, but, for now, it’s at least nice to see that he is healthy enough to play in games.. C. San Antonio Spurs. TIAGO SPLITTER

SAN ANTONIO SPURS BENCH. B+. The San Antonio Spurs bench was a big positive tonight against the Houston Rockets with the reserves contributing 44 points. Manu Ginobili led the bench in scoring, putting up 15 points. The rest of his game was also on point as he dished out four assists and grabbed five rebounds. While the offensive help was there from the reserves, it would have been nice to see a little more defense from the bench, especially in stopping Houston’s Corey Brewer. Brewer went for 25 off the Rockets bench, allowing Houston to stay close to San Antonio in the third quarter. Still, a good game for the Spurs reserves.. .