Show stoppers, DeMar DeRozan and Keldon Johnson combined for a whopping 47 points as the San Antonio Spurs keeps their playoff hopes intact after hammering the Houston Rockets.
DeMar DeRozan and Keldon Johnson did career-high numbers with 23pts and 24 points and 11 rebounds respectively as the Spurs eased into a 123-105 win over the short-handed Houston Rockets in a key NBA seeding game.
San Antonio Spurs are now still in the race to secure postseason qualification as a result of the win against Houston.
Portland, San Antonio, and Phoenix are all behind Memphis, with the team that finishes the restart in ninth place earning a chance to play the eighth-place squad for a berth in the playoffs.
San Antonio, having won three games on the bounce and are 5-2 in the NBA bubble. They led by as much as 17 points at half-time and by as many as 24 in the third quarter on the way to a 98-78 advantage heading into the final period.
Spurs have a lot of players who can add immense input to the team as Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, with Rudy Gay and Marco Belinelli scoring 13 each, Lonnie Walker IV hitting for 12 points, and Dejounte Murray contributing 11 points.
Houston, who have already secured a postseason spot and can finish no higher than fourth in the West standings.
Russell Westbrook, however, led the Rockets with 20 points on his return to the fold after missing two games with a bruised right quadriceps. Jeff Green added 17 for Houston while Ben McLemore scored 16. Austin Rivers and Chris Clemons hit for 13 points apiece.
The Rockets leading scorer James Harden (who was held out for rest) did not feature as well as Eric Gordon (ankle).
