Winless Rockets lose Brooks, fall to Spurs in OT

SAN ANTONIO (AP)–  Tony Parker had 21 points and 14 assists, including seven points in overtime, and the San Antonio Spurs kept the Houston Rockets winless with a 124-121 victory Saturday night. The Spurs are off to their first 4-1 start since the 2007-08 season.
The only NBA team without a victory this season, the Rockets (0-5) are off to their worst start since 1999. They might have more troubles ahead, too, after point guard Aaron Brooks was carried off the court at halftime with an injured left ankle.
Brooks came down on Manu Ginobili's foot after heaving an errant halfcourt shot at the buzzer. He did not return to the game, and results of X-rays taken in the locker room weren't immediately available.
Ginobili scored 28 points, and the Spurs withstood three 3-point tries by the Rockets in the frantic final 14.3 seconds of overtime. Richard Jefferson added 22 points and was 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line.
Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 24 points. Luis Scola had 20, and shot the last of a trio of missed 3-pointers that
 Houston was able to attempt while the scrambling Spurs couldn't corral a rebound.
Tim Duncan shook off a miserable first half and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
With the Rockets already saving Yao Ming for Sunday's game against Minnesota, the injury to Brooks left them without two starters for the second half. It almost didn't matter.
The Rockets had two chances to put the Spurs away in the final 16.8 seconds of regulation, but Courtney Lee missed two free throws that would've pushed the lead to four and rookie Ishmael Smith missed a potential game-winning runner with 2.8 seconds left.
Shane Battier added 14 points for the Rockets.
Before arriving in San Antonio, the winless Rockets could take some comfort in losing to four teams that were a combined 18-3 entering Saturday, including unbeaten New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Silver linings in this loss might be tough to find. Brooks had 18 points before writhing on the court while his teammates trotted to the locker room without the club's third-leading scorer.
Towering over Brooks on the court in a blazer was Yao, who didn't play on the first night of back-to-back games. Faced with choosing between Yao defending San Antonio's pick-and-roll or Minnesota's Darko Milicic, Rockets coach Rick Adelman preserved Yao for the Timberwolves.
"I don't know if it's right or not," Adelman said.
The Rockets are putting strict limits on Yao's minutes to try and keep the injury-plagued star healthy for a full season. The 7-foot-6 center is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.