For three quarters and part of a fourth Thursday night, the Rockets were the team of Rudy Tomjanovich's imagination -- hustling, resourceful, a play or two (and a player or two) away from contention.

Down the stretch, however, the Rockets morphed back to the reality of this frustrating season, losing 102-78 to the San Antonio Spurs before an announced crowd of 12,169 at Compaq Center. The victory gave San Antonio a four-game sweep of the season series.

Playing without center Kelvin Cato, who suffered an injured wrist that will sideline him for tonight's game in Memphis, the Rockets pulled within five points in the third quarter with good play off the bench by Jason Collier and a brief hot streak by Steve Francis.

From there, however, the Spurs kept dumping the ball inside to Tim Duncan, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and built the lead to 10, 20 and beyond.