DeMar DeRozan Drops 23, Leads Spurs Past Rockets with James Harden Out

The San Antonio Spurs kept their postseason hopes alive with a 123-105 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

James Harden was out to rest on the first day of a back-to-back, while Eric Gordon and Danuel House were also unavailable. Russell Westbrook did his best to lead the Rockets after returning from his quad injury, but his team fell short.

It left a big opportunity for San Antonio, which entered the day just one game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Portland Trail Blazers are also ahead of the Spurs in the standings.

Keldon Johnson had a breakout showing while DeMar DeRozan also stepped up to lead the Spurs to their third straight win. The squad pulled away in the second quarter and led by as many as 24 points before closing out the much-needed victory.

Notable Performances

DeMar DeRozan, SF, SAS: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

Keldon Johnson, SF, SAS: 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block

Russell Westbrook, PG, HOU: 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 7 turnovers

Ben McLemore, SG, HOU: 16 points, 3 rebounds

Jeff Green, PF, HOU: 17 points, 4 rebounds

Keldon Johnson Gives Spurs Another Dangerous Weapon

The Spurs have needed scoring help to replace the production of LaMarcus Aldridge during the restart, and different players have stepped up each night. In this game, it was Keldon Johnson who took over.

The first half was mostly status quo for San Antonio with DeRozan taking over offensively with 15 points:

Johnson played well early with 10 points, but his performance in the second half is what helped the Spurs pull away.

The first-round pick out of Kentucky set a career high with 24 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and hitting all three of his three-point attempts.

When Houston cut the lead to 14 in the fourth quarter, Johnson took over to key a 15-0 run for the Spurs to seal the win.

Those watching along saw this as the start of big things for the rookie:

Adding 11 rebounds, which nearly doubled his previous high of six, showed just how well Johnson played in this one.

San Antonio had been mostly overlooked as a playoff contender compared to the exciting young teams like the Pelicans, Suns and Grizzlies, but there is clearly young talent on the Spurs as well like Derrick White, Lonny Walker IV and Johnson.

If these players continue to produce, this squad can remain dangerous in Orlando.

Rockets Offense Suffers Without James Harden

Taking away the leading scorer in the NBA is going to cause problems for an offense, but the Rockets have to be disappointed with the effort Tuesday.

The outside shooting especially took a hit with just four made three-pointers in the first half while finishing 14-of-48 (27.7 percent) from deep for the game. It's a stark contrast from the 34.9 percent shooting we have seen during the season.

Without opposing eyes on Harden, his teammates saw much tougher shots and struggled, with the frontcourt of P.J. Tucker, Robert Covington and Jeff Green combining to shoot 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

It caused the Rockets to fall to 1-3 without Harden this season.

Westbrook reached 20 points and had strong moments attacking the rim:

However, he also had seven turnovers to go with his six assists, not the type of ratio you want from a point guard.

It showed if Harden is forced to miss any time in the playoffs, Houston could be in trouble.

What's Next?

The Spurs have one more seeding game remaining against the Utah Jazz on Thursday. They likely need a win or plenty of help in order to earn a spot in the play-in series.

Houston will face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday before closing things out against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday.