Spurs edge nearer postseason spot

Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 123-120 win over the Houston Rockets Monday night to inch closer to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

It was the fourth straight victory for the Spurs, who moved within one-half game of the Los Angeles Lakers for the 10th spot in the West.

"We hung in there and got it done so I'm proud of the guys," coach Gregg Popovich said.

Keldon Johnson had 21 points and Jakob Poeltl added 17 points with 13 rebounds as the Spurs dominated inside, outscoring Houston 72-30 in the paint. San Antonio had a season-high 82 points in the paint in a win over Houston on Jan 25.

Rookie Jalen Green had 30 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 26 for the Rockets, whose two-game winning streak was snapped.

"I see growth in this group it seems like every day," coach Stephen Silas said. "Even when we lose I feel like there are moments where we grow."

A 3-pointer by Kenyon Martin Jr.got the Rockets within three points with 21.5 seconds to go. Murray's free throw gave San Antonio a 121-117 edge.

Josh Christopher hit a 3 for the Rockets to make it 121-120 with 9.6 seconds left. This time Murray made both free throws to push the lead to three.

The Rockets had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Martin's 3-pointer rolled in and out of the basket.

"I can't believe it didn't go in," he said. "But we fought until the end and I'm so proud of our guys."

San Antonio led by seven points with just over a minute remaining on two free throws by Murray, who had 11 assists and seven rebounds on his career high scoring night.

Popovich joked that Murray should be fined for falling short of a triple-double.

"He's been special this year," Popovich said.

The Spurs led by 12 to start the fourth quarter and were up by the same amount when Houston used a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 107-100 with about seven minutes to go.

Agencies Via Xinhua