Tim Duncan held scoreless for first time in career

San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan didn’t score a single point during his team’s win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday (Manila time), Jan. 3, 2016, for the first time in his career. AP

Since making his NBA debut in 1997, Tim Duncan has scored in all of the 1,359 games he has played in.

Unfortunately for the San Antonio Spurs veteran, that impressive streak ended on Sunday (Manila time) in a 121-103 drubbing of the Houston Rockets in his first game back after missing two games due to knee soreness.

Duncan, arguably the best power forward in NBA history with five championships, three Finals MVP awards and a couple of season MVPs among other accolades, was held scoreless for the first time in his 19-year career after going 0-of-3 from the field in 14 minutes of action.

But make no mistake, Duncan is still going strong at age 39. He remains a key contributor for the Spurs — averaging 8.7 points on 52% shooting from the field, 7.9 rebounds and 3 assists this season prior to this game.

Two months ago, Duncan failed to grab a rebound in a 104-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans that snapped his 1,342 straight games of at least tallying a single board.

Despite Duncan’s scoreless output, the Spurs still stretched their franchise best home start to 20-0 and become the first Western Conference team to achieve the feat since the 1985-86 Rockets.