Aldridge, Spurs oust Rockets

Warriors up next after San Antonio wins minus Leonard.

The San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Houston Rockets with a 114-75 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals Thursday night, and they didn’t even need Kawhi Leonard to do it.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 34 points and added 12 rebounds in his second big game of the series. He picked up the scoring slack with Leonard out because of a sprained ankle sustained in San Antonio’s overtime win in Game 5.

The visiting Spurs led 61-42 at halftime and didn’t let up in reaching the Western Conference finals for the first time since winning the title in 2014. They will meet the Golden State Warriors, with Game 1 on Sunday in Oakland, Calif.

Trevor Ariza led Houston with 20 points on a night when MVP hopeful James Harden capped his stellar season by tying a season low with 10 points on 2-of11 shooting before fouling out with 3:15 left.

Aldridge had 26 points in a victory in Game 3, after the Spurs lost guard Tony Parker for the playoffs with a ruptured quadriceps tendon.

Jonathon Simmons took Leonard’s spot in the lineup and scored 18 points. Patty Mills, Parker’s replacement, scored 14.

San Antonio was up by 23 after the third quarter and scored the first seven points of the fourth to make it 94-64 and send many of the home fans streaming to the exits.

The Spurs looked to be the underdog entering this one without Leonard’s scoring and defense.

Instead, things went wrong early for the Rockets, with Aldridge scoring 10 points in the first quarter as San Antonio dashed out to a 31-24 lead. Houston was down 50-29 when Harden took his first shot midway through the second quarter. He made that 3-pointer, but it didn’t get the Rockets going.

The Spurs opened the third quarter with an 8-1 run, with six points from Aldridge, to extend their lead to 69-43.

Houston, which relied on its 3-point shooting to get this far, couldn’t make shots from long range, going 13 of 40. But the Rockets also had trouble scoring in general, making just 28.6 percent (22 of 77) of their shots overall.

Celtics-Wizards: Avery Bradley created a buzz with his playoff career-high 29 points Wednesday in a win that gave Boston a 3-2 series lead over the Wizards heading into tonight’s Game 6 at Washington.

But Bradley’s consistency on defense during the first two rounds is a bigger reason the top-seeded Celtics are on the verge of an Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite dealing with his second hip pointer injury of the series, Bradley annoyed Wizards point guard John Wall throughout Game 5.

As the primary defender, he helped hold Washington’s All-Star to 21 points and 17 field goal attempts. He limited Wall to a playoff-low four assists. In Boston’s three wins, Wall has a plus/minus of minus-17.

“Avery’s the best on-theball defender in the NBA — hands down,” said backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas, who drew double- and triple-teams in Game 5 and had 18 points, the third straight game he failed to reach 20 after scoring 33 and 53 in the Games 1 and 2 victories. “A guy like John Wall you’re not gonna stop.

“He does a hell of a job on him. He makes it tough. Nothing’s easy. And that’s what Avery Bradley does, each and every night.”

RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES LaMarcus Aldridge, who had a game-high 34 points, slaps hands with Patty Mills. The Spurs won without injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.