Spurs cruise to highest point total of season in romp over Rockets

Four Spurs scored 20 or more points, led by Victor Wembanyama's 29, as host San Antonio rolled to a 145-120 win over the up and down Houston Rockets on Sunday in a Lone Star State dustup.

The Spurs scored their most points in a game this season and have captured four straight outings and 15 of their past 16 contests as they continue to chase Oklahoma City for the top spot in the Western Conference.

San Antonio took charge of Sunday's game with a rousing second quarter that produced a 12-point lead at halftime. The Spurs increased that margin to 27 points when Stephon Castle canned a 3-pointer with 5:45 to play in the third quarter on the way to carrying a 110-94 advantage into the final period.

Houston got to within a dozen points early in the fourth quarter but no closer as the Spurs reasserted themselves and drew away, leading by as many as 30 in the final minutes.

Castle added 23 points for San Antonio while De'Aaron Fox finished with 20 points and 10 assists, Keldon Johnson also scored 20 points, Dylan Harper had 19 and Julian Champagnie tallied 11. The Spurs shot 58% from the floor and made 21 of 40 3-point attempts and have taken the first three games of a six-game homestand.

Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson led Houston with 23 points each. Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 17 apiece while Alperen Sengun had 16 points. The Rockets have alternated wins and losses over their past six games and fell 7.5 games behind San Antonio in the West standings.

Durant closed the first quarter with a floater and two free throws that gave the Rockets a 33-32 lead after 12 minutes of play.

San Antonio quickly jumped to the front and pushed its lead to 11 points two times, the latest on a turnaround jumper by Castle with 7:46 to play in the second period. The Rockets trimmed their deficit to 55-49 on a hook shot by Sengun two and a half minutes later before San Antonio answered, using a setback 3-pointer by Wembanyama to take a 69-57 advantage to the break.

Harper led all scorers with 17 points before halftime while Wembanyama added 15. Durant's 11 points paced Houston in the first half, with Thompson and Sheppard contributing 10 points apiece.

San Antonio all but put away the game in first 2:15 of the third quarter, bursting out of halftime with a 9-2 run capped by Champagnie's banked jumper that stoked the lead to 78-59.