HOUSTON — Patty Mills remembered all too well how crestfallen the Spurs were after Tony Parker suffered a postseason-ending injury last week in Game 2 of the West semifinals against the Rockets.

“It kind of left a heavy-heart type of deal,” Mills said. “People got bogged down a little bit.”

With that in mind, Mills took it upon himself to rally the troops after it became evident late in regulation in Game 5 on Tuesday that Spurs star Kawhi Leonard was done for the night after injuring his left ankle.

“I was just trying to keep the boys in good spirits, good vibes, trying to let everyone know that whatever the case may be, we’ve still got this,” Mills said. “I thought it was important to keep spirits high because we were still very much in the game at that point.”

Whether it was through his leadership or play, Mills made the most of his first career playoff start.

“This is what we live for, these moments, to play in these situations, Game 5 at home,” Mills said. “You just try to soak it up and play hard.”

And play hard he did. In a career-playoff high 43 minutes, Mills tied his career high for postseason points with 20 in the Spurs’ 110-107 victory.

Rookie Dejounte Murray started the previous two games at point guard after Parker suffered a ruptured left quadriceps tendon.

But after Houston won Game 4 to tie the series at two games apiece, Popovich turned to Mills to provide an early offensive spark and prevent Rockets defensive ace Patrick Beverley from leaving Murray to double-team Leonard and others.

“He’s a little bit more dangerous, so you have to pay more attention to him,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said of Mills before Game 5. “Pat (Beverley) was used to roaming a little bit, but we can’t do that. That’s probably the whole (reason for the change). And Mills is a heck of a player.”

Mills responded with a big-time performance that included four assists and a steal.

“His energy was outstanding,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “He played (more than) 40 minutes at a great pace.”

The Spurs trailed by 11 and 12 points after the first quarter in losing Games 1 and 4. But they led 32-29 after the first period in Game 5, thanks in large part to a strong start by Mills, who finished the quarter with a team-high eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a 2-of-3 effort from 3-point territory.

“He got us going,” Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge said. “We’ve had some tough starts, and he got us going.”

Mills finished 5 of 12 from long distance to become the first point guard in franchise history to record 20 points with five or more 3-pointers and four or more assists in a playoff game.

“He did what he’s done for us the entire time he’s been here,” Popovich said. “And given the circumstances, we just wanted to start out better offensively and not get into a hole against these guys. Because if you get behind, you’ve got big problems.”

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Twitter: @tom_orsborn