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The Houston Rockets fell behind seconds after the opening tip and never sniffed a lead, as they fell to the Spurs in San Antonio Friday night, 114-92. James Harden led all scorers with 29 points, but got very little help. Only two other Rockets, Patrick Patterson and Toney Douglas, scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, the Spurs had six players score in double figures, led by Tony Parker's 17 points. Tim Duncan had 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 23 minutes.
The Rockets will welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town Saturday night. The Mavs are coming off a 97-94 win against the Phoenix Suns Thursday night.
The New Orleans Hornets' struggles continue as they dropped their eighth game in the last 10, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies 96-89. After trailing 51-39 at halftime, the Hornets outscored the Memphis 27-20 in the third quarter. A Brian Roberts jumper made the score 71-70 early in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets never managed to take the lead, trading baskets with Memphis for much of the fourth quarter. Rudy Gay hit a three with just over two minutes left to stretch the Grizzlies lead to 94-87, putting the game away. Gay led all scorers with 28 points.