Kevin Martin recovered from a tough opener to put up 25 points and lead the Houston Rockets to a 105-85 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

Kyle Lowry added 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Luis Scola scored 18 points for the Rockets, who won their first game under new head coach Kevin McHale.

Martin, who was one of the main pieces headed out of town in the three-team trade involving Chris Paul that was squashed by the commissioner’s office, went 1 of 10 from the floor in the opener. Proving that was just a bad game and not an effect of the trade rumors, Martin went out and buried 10 of 17 shots from the field against the Spurs, including four of eight from 3-point range.

San Antonio, which was playing the second game of a back-to-back set, looked like the aging team that bowed out in the first round of the playoffs last season. Tim Duncan, limited to under 16 minutes, scored four points on 1-of-8 shooting while Manu Ginobili was held to eight points by Houston.

The Rockets made their move early, taking a 23-18 lead after the first quarter and closing the second with a 19-4 burst to make it 53-34 at the break. Martin scored 13 points during the run.

DeJuan Blair recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.