SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and 12 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 109-106 in their home opener Saturday night.

Wembanyama added seven rebounds and three blocks and shot 10 of 17 from the field.

Chris Paul added three points and nine assists, including a drive and feed to Sochan for an open layup that gave San Antonio a 104-99 lead with 1:35 left.

After trailing by 22 points in the first half, Houston was within one possession for most of the final minutes. The Rockets went on a 21-8 run in the first six minutes of the final quarter, turning an 18-point deficit into a 95-90 lead for San Antonio.

Jalen Green had 27 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet added 18 and Dillon Brooks had 16.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston wasted a good finish on a bad start. After shooting 34% in three quarters, including 17% in the second period, the Rockets shot 60% in the final quarter.

Spurs: San Antonio went 2 for 13 on 3-pointers after opening the game 6 for 7.

Key moment

After struggling to get the ball into Wembanyama's hands at times last season, two passes from Paul brought promising results and thunderous celebrations. Paul's first lob led to an alley-oop dunk for Wembanyama with 2:12 left in the first half, giving the Spurs a 57-38 lead. A minute later, Paul and Wembanyama repeated the alley-oop dunk, giving the Spurs a 59-38 lead.

Key statistics

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich stressed his team needed to be more physical, and the Spurs responded with a 57-46 win over Houston.

Next

The Rockets face the Spurs again on Monday, completing a two-game set in San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba