PLAYOFFS AT HOME

Rockets sweep Spurs 4-0 this year, clinch home court vs. Portland

Home court against Portland? That belongs to Houston. The Rockets knocked off the Spurs 104-98 Monday night, clinching the 4th seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs against the Blazers. The Spurs have lost only 19 games all season -- four of those losses came at the hands of the Rockets. It was Houston's first regular season sweep of San Antonio since the 1988-89 season. Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones were huge inside. Howard finished with 20 points on 9-11 shooting and 17 boards while Jones went for 20 and 11. Chandler Parsons scored 14 of his 21 points in the third quarter. James Harden (16 points, 7 assists) was just 4-16 from the floor, but hit a huge step-back jumper late to keep the Spurs at bay. Patrick Beverley added 12 points. Off the bench, Omer Asik scored 8 points to go with 8 rebounds and Jeremy Lin added 5 and 4 assists. The playoffs will start this Saturday or Sunday at the Toyota Center.