The Spurs did work in the paint to dominate the Rockets

The good guys went to work down low all night with tremendous success but also got some love from the three-pointer as they cruised past the Rockets in a blowout win. Dejounte Murray led all players with 19 points while Jakob Poeltl poured in 18. Eight different Spurs players scored in the double digits on a night the team shot 57% on 58-101 shooting.

If you make more buckets than the other team, you often come away with a victory. These sage words are brought to you by mathematics.

Dejounte Murray had a very human statline of 19 points and 10 assists for what amounts to “only a double-double.” Very pedestrian by his lofty standards this season. At least he had the sense to get 3 steals or there would be those who’d call his night a complete failure by these same lofty standards.

My goodness Doug McDermott, think of The Children! Dougie McBuckets is best known for his acumen from the three-point line, but don’t call him a one-trick pony. The player not related to Dylan McDermott (and not to be confused with Dermot Mulroney) went crazy town on the basket as he leapt from beyond the restricted area to throw down this one-handed jam.

On this sequence, Derrick White had a nice half court pass to a streaking Lonnie Walker for the dunk. The Spurs are last in the league in dunks (no surprise there). But tonight they combined for a whopping 8 slams.

Some defense to offense is always nice. Here Murray took the stray ball and pushed it up the court where it found its way to Keldon Johnson, who pushed his way to the hoop for a layup.

Not enough can be said about Murray’s court vision this season. He’s simply looking to make a play and finding teammates cutting toward the basket with ease. Here, Mountain Drew Eubanks ran the floor like his name depended on it (it very much does), and Murray slips him a pass for the bucket and the and-1 for good measure.

Recipe for a poster: take one hypercaffeinated young ball player, sprinkle in some mad hops, add one thunderous dunk over the opposing team, and stir vigorously to please the crowd. Keldon Johnson had himself an efficient night, making 7 buckets out of 10 attempts to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals in roughly 27 minutes. He’s been one of the more consistent Spurs in the last 8 games since his return from health and safety protocols. He’s scored in the double digits coming into Tuesday night’s game and is shooting 45% from three in that span.

In a game that the Spurs dominated the interior, Devin Vassell opted to go contrarian. The second-year player scored all of his 12 points from beyond the arc, making 4 three-pointers out of 5 attempts. He’s settling into the three and D role this season off the bench.

Dejounte Murray making this pick-2 look easy. It was one of his three steals for the night, and he helped himself to a bucket on the end of it.

And last but never least, the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs will remain at the AT&T Center to grapple with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.