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Australian star Patty Mills was surprised how smoothly his return to NBA action went after more than six months on the sidelines.
Mills played his first game of the season for reigning champions San Antonio, coming back from off-season shoulder surgery and adding eight points in the Spurs’ 110-106 home win over the Houston Rockets.
The point guard said he had to press Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for his spot in the side, but won the battle, getting just over 20 minutes of court time.
“The shoulder felt great – it’s fully repaired now and has been for a little bit,” Mills said.
“Lungs were great, legs felt great. It’s just getting a rhythm and getting used to being back out on the floor.
“Other than that, everything else felt great. I was quite surprised actually.”
With some family in town for Christmas, the 26-year-old said he was relaxed in the lead up to the match.
“It’s all about being mentally strong and … I think I’ve done a good job of that.
“It’s just about dusting the cobwebs off the ball-handling skills a little bit and it will be alright.”
Mills’ return was timely with the Spurs’ AllStar point guard Tony Parker missing the game as he continues to battle a hamstring injury.
Despite only shooting three-from-eight, Popovich described Mills’s return was “huge”.
“He couldn’t find his shot tonight, but his energy, just being on the court, being a team guy and moving the basketball – he made a few free throws, made a few jumpers – was huge for us.
“Although, he was a little scary when he dove on the floor in the first half. Like, geez, what were you thinking?”
The game featured 20 lead changes and was deadlocked 13 times before the Spurs improved to 19-13, only seventh in the Western Conference, while the Rockets slipped to 21-8.
Houston had won the prior six meetings between the clubs.
Earlier, LeBron James suffered a poor shooting performance and Kyrie Irving remained sidelined with a bruised knee as the Cleveland Cavaliers were routed 103-80 by visiting Detroit.
The Cavaliers, whose only loss in the prior five games was a Christmas defeat at Miami, fell to 18-12, three games behind NBA Central division leader Chicago and fifth in the Eastern Conference while the struggling Pistons improved to 7-23.
Melbourne-born guard Irving, averaging 20 points a game, missed his second match in a row.
His place in the starting lineup was taken by Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova who had three points and six assists in 26 minutes.
Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 25 points to spark Detroit, who also had 16 points and 17 rebounds from Andre Drummond.
The Pistons hit 17-of-31 three-point attempts to win their second game in a row but only their fourth in 21 matches.
James hit only five-of-19 shots from the field but still produced 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Kevin Love added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Tristan Thompson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers are also recovering from last week’s loss of Brazilian big man Anderson Varejao, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the season.
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