体坛英语新闻：Rockets take Spurs down, finally

HOUSTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Houston Rockets secured their last victory ahead of the playoffs Monday night at Toyota Center, beating the San Antonio Spurs 104-98, their first sweep of the Spurs since the 1988-89 season.

The Rockets got off to a fast start, leading by as many as 14 points in the first quarter. They kept the early advantage till the middle of the third quarter when the Spurs began to make a round of surges, cut the double-digit deficit and overtook the host team.

The Rockets had a late push in the final quarter and regained the lead before celebrating their first victory over the Spurs since the 1988-89 season.

Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones each scored 20 points for the Rockets, combining for 28 rebounds. Chandler Parsons chipped in 21 points. James Harden added 16 points with seven assists.

Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 17 points. The team limited the minutes of stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with their top seed in the Western Conference playoffs already secure.

The victory helped Houston to lock up homecourt advantage in the first-round of the playoffs, in which they will face the Portland Trail Blazers in Toyota Center either Saturday or Sunday.