As the saying goes: if at first you don’t succeed, try beating the other team in Texas. Wait … that’s not how … ah, forget it. The important part is that the Houston Rockets ended their four-game skid with a 136-101 thrashing of the San Antonio Spurs.

The Rockets were on fire from the tip, opening up a 16-point lead behind a 39-point first quarter. They extended their lead to 23 at the end of the half and never looked back. It didn’t matter what the Rockets did. They burned the Spurs in transition (plus-9 in fast break points), feasted inside (52 paint points), and drained 22 threes to boot. Houston finished the game with a 138.8 offensive rating; I think it’s safe to say that’s pretty darn good.

Return of the Point Gawd

It’s been a pretty underwhelming year for Chris Paul. He hasn’t always been available, missing five games due to suspension and injury so far this season. On the court, he’s been more inconsistent than we’ve been used to.

He entered Friday’s contest boasting the lowest true shooting percentage (56.3) since his second season in the league (53.7), a career-low in assist percentage (36.5), and a career-high in turnover percentage (16.8). The latter is what really stands out; if that number were to hold, it would be his worst by nearly three percentage points (14.0 in 2016-17).

So, of course, Paul made his return with a 14-point, 10-assist, zero-turnover night.

It was the 36th time Paul finished a game with 10 (or more) assists without a turnover, third most in the Basketball-Reference database behind Muggsy Bogues (46) and John Stockton (44).

The Spurs made it pretty easy for him as they failed to contain Houston’s most basic action. Paul had success in Pistol sets, turning the corner and forcing the Spurs into pick-your-poison propositions:

James Harden and Clint Capela set fantastic screens, allowing Paul to gain an advantage on the drive. LaMarcus Aldridge rotates over to Paul because of the threat of his pull-up jumper. That leaves a huge window for the pocket pass to Capela, who then shows off his dexterity with the finish.

A little later, the Rockets went to the well again:

Again, two solid screens allow Paul to get downhill. DeMar DeRozan goes under the second screen, a risky bet that surprisingly pays off. Unfortunately for San Antonio, DeRozan’s attachment is pretty much nullified by Dante Cunningham’s ball-watching. He’s caught flat-footed at the nail, surveying the action while PJ Tucker cuts behind him. Paul peeps the cut, then delivers a dime for the easy bucket.

Mistakes — and fear — snowballed into countless defensive miscues by the Spurs. Paul was able to take full advantage, particularly by finding open shooters. Half of his assists led to three-pointers, with this one to Eric Gordon serving as his easiest.

Seriously, San Antonio? Tim Duncan had to be somewhere blinking in disapproval.

Other Notes

• Another day, another prolific scoring performance from Capela. His 27 points (9-of-12 shooting) led all scorers, and I don’t think he broke a sweat while doing it. San Antonio’s bigs had no real answer for him. For those keeping track at home, Capela is now up to seven 20-point games and we just hit December. He had 12 all of last season. And while you may expect efficiency purely from the types of looks Capela gets, don’t let that fool you; Capela’s role-adjusted efficiency (by our CPOE stat) bests 83% of NBA players, and is second best among his offensive role grouping (only Gobert has a higher rating). He’s stepping it up in a big way.
• Isaiah Hartenstein only played three minutes and didn’t register a point, rebound, assist, steal, block, turnover, foul, or shot attempt. He still managed to catch my eye towards the end of the first quarter. Within a 10 second span, he switched out on Bryn Forbes, Marco Belinelli, and Patty Mills before Mills bricked a stepback three over him. The young man continues to impress on switches after a rather, um, questionable start to the season.

• Don’t look now, but Eric Gordon might be back. He dropped a smooth 26 while draining 7-of-11 threes. He’s shooting 48.6 percent from three on 12.6 (!!!) attempts over his last three contests. When Gordon is on, Houston transforms into an entirely different beast.
• Gerald Green has never taken a stationary three. I’m sure of it. He may have just inspired a piece down the line. Stay tuned.
• James Harden might’ve dropped the quietest 23-7-10 game of the season. Only two turnovers for the NBA’s turnover leader! Progress! On a serious note, it’s hard to overstate how big Paul’s return should be for him. Harden averaged 108 touches per game during Paul’s three-game absence. That number should get a pretty sizable haircut moving forward.
• Marquese Chriss and Michael Carter-Williams still managed to be minuses in a 31-point blowout. Bless them.