San Antonio will meet the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, which tips off on Monday morning.
"He's had a historic season, and we can get that better", D'Antoni said.
SAS: Kawhi Leonard (sprained left ankle) is questionable.
Leonard's ankle problem wasn't the only injury San Antonio dealt with in this series, as it came after the Spurs lost veteran Tony Parker to a season-ending quadriceps injury in Game 2.
Simmons also took the lead role in guarding Rockets point guard James Harden, whose outstanding season ended with a thud. When asked if he protested when he chose to sit him, Popovich said: "He'd rather play". The Rockets shot a miserable 6 for 32 (18.8%) at the rim, thanks mostly to the efforts of Pau Gasol, who led the game in shots defended at the rim, allowing opponents to go just 4 of 13 (30.8%) while he patrolled the tin.
Al Horford added 19 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
The Spurs will certainly need his stellar defensive skills to contend with a Warriors team that not only swept the Jazz, but also eliminated the Trail Blazers in four games in the first round.
Eurovision: Pop, Politics, Dancing Ape - But No Russia
Even with not-so-hot 22/1 odds on Skybet, Swedish Pop Idol finalist Robin Bengtsson could still manage to win the contest. A man in a tacky suit and his "gorilla" are one of the favorites to win this year's Eurovision song contest.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs were pushed to six games against the Grizzlies in the first round and six games to the Rockets in the second round. If he has the ball in his hand, you have got to make sure you are connected, because if you are not, he is knocking down a three.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, the Spurs were 8.5-point underdogs against the Rockets on Thursday night, the second-largest underdog they've been in 268 playoff games under Gregg Popovich. Also, free throw shooting has been a weird bugaboo for this team - which is odd since they shot so well from the line through the regular season. "They played well at the offensive end with a lot of sense and defensively it was one of our best nights".
Harden was held to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting and committed 6 turnovers in the 114-75 loss Thursday night.
Turnover woes If the Wizards are going to have a chance to prolong the series, Brooks said they would have to start by limiting turnovers and Boston's 3-pointers.
"They did a really good job of crowding and showing bodies, their bigs at the rim", Harden said of his lack of verve.
"It's frustrating. It's frustrating, definitely, especially the way we were resilient all year long", Harden said. I take responsibility for both ends of the floor. Clint Capela finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. For those who want to reduce this game up to "the Spurs made shots and the Rockets missed", you can't.
Asked if Harden was injured, D'Antoni said, "He's been battling that cold, but nothing I know of".
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