"Not one to look a gift DNP in the mouth, Kevin McHale wasn't complaining when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave Tim Duncan a night off Saturday at the Toyota Center.

But he also wasn't surprised.

"Coach Popovich has such a good feel for those guys," said McHale, the Rockets' first-year coach. "He's been around Timmy his entire career. I think sometimes you sense in players something they don't sense in themselves."

Even after the Spurs lost a close one in Houston, 105-103, without Duncan or injured guard Manu Ginobili, Popovich didn't regret to playing with a second All-Star tied behind his back.

Truth be told, Popovich had been trying to sit the Duncan for about a week, only to be rebuffed by his 35-year-old captain. Saturday, Popovich said, was just time — no matter if the Spurs were coming off the season's first home loss, against Sacramento."