The San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets met on Thursday night for Game 6 of their second round playoff matchup. With the Spurs leading the series 3-2, it was a "win or go home" situation for the Rockets. They were playing at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,000 fans, hoping to force a deciding Game 7 on the road. The Spurs were playing without their biggest star -- Kawhi Leonard -- who injured his ankle in Game 5, and also without their starting point guard -- Tony Parker. Jonathon Simmons started in Leonard's place on Thursday night as San Antonio wanted to seal the deal and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
San Antonio dominates Houston in Game 6
It was a game in which San Antonio dominated from the opening tip. After trailing 5-4 early in the first quarter, the Spurs took the lead and never looked back. They held a 31-24 lead after the first 12 minutes of the game. LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 points for the Spurs in the first period. Gregg Popovich's squad opened up the second quarter with a 13-2 burst, and midway through the period had a 50-29 lead. At halftime the score was 61-42 for the away team. San Antonio outscored Houston in the third quarter as well, and, heading into the fourth quarter they had a 23-point lead at 87-64. They ended up winning the game in blowout fashion as the Rockets scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter.
The final score was 114-75 for the Spurs as they outrebounded Houston 60-37 on Thursday night. San Antonio shot 53.1% from the field while holding the Rockets to just 28.6% shooting. They finished the game with 32 team assists and only eight turnovers.
LaMarcus Aldridge steps up
Without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker in the lineup, San Antonio relied on LaMarcus Aldridge to carry the load on the offensive end for them.
Aldridge responded by scoring a game-high 34 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Aldridge became the first Spur to score 34 points with 12 rebounds in a playoff game since Tim Duncan against Phoenix in 2008. Jonathon Simmons added 18 points and four rebounds, while Patty Mills scored 14 points and dished out seven assists.
In the last game of the season for the Houston Rockets, it was Trevor Ariza who led them in scoring.
Ariza finished with 20 points and five rebounds while shooting 5-for-8 from behind the arc. James Harden had a tough night as he scored just 10 points and had six turnovers. Clint Capela added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets.
San Antonio wins this series 4-2 and they advance to the Western Conference Finals to face the Golden State Warriors. Game 1 of that series is scheduled for Sunday night at Oracle Arena.
