Spurs (25-34) vs. Charlotte Hornets (21-39)
When, where: Tuesday, 6 p.m., Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.
All-time series record: Spurs lead 42-17
Last season: Hornets won 2-0
Season series: Spurs lead 1-0
Last meeting: Spurs 114, Hornets 90, Feb. 1, AT&T Center
Spurs' last game: Lost to Indiana Pacers 116-111, Monday, AT&T Center
Hornets' last game: Lost to Milwaukee Bucks 93-85, Sunday, Charlotte
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 3-7, lost one
Hornets' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, lost one
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Not yet submitted
Hornets' injury/inactive report: Guard/forward Dwayne Bacon (G League), out; guard Devonte' Graham (left ankle; soreness), doubtful; guard Malik Monk (league suspension), out; guard Kobi Simmons (G League), out; forward Ray Spalding (G League), out.
Notable: The game in Charlotte on Tuesday night is the first of three in a row on the road for the Silver and Black, who play Brooklyn on Friday and Cleveland on Sunday. The Spurs' next home game is next Tuesday against Interstate 35 rival Dallas. Charlotte trails Brooklyn by five games for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets are coached by former San Antonio assistant James Borrego.
GAME PREVIEW
Down but not out — yet — the Spurs left the AT&T Center late Monday night and hopped a plane to Charlotte, N.C.
Maybe their mojo will change for the better in a different time zone.
The Silver and Black lost to the Indiana Pacers 116-111 on Monday, dropping to four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Spurs start a stretch of three consecutive road games Tuesday in Charlotte, where the Hornets will seek to atone for a 24-point loss a month ago in San Antonio.
And the Silver and Black? They're getting more frustrated with each defeat. The Spurs lost five straight after beating Charlotte and have dropped eight of their last 11 games.
San Antonio shot 51.9 percent overall and 50 percent (16-32) from the three-point line, but couldn't make enough stops on defense to beat Indiana. The Pacers also had a hot hand, shooting 50.6 from the field and nailing 15 of 31 three-pointers.
Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray struggled to find the words to express his frustration when he met with reporters.
"We lost the game," he said. "We competed and competed (but) we lost. I don't know."
Murray fell back on what he and his teammates have said throughout the season when they've been asked what they have to do to turn things around.
"Be consistent," he said. "Night in and night out, when it's crunch time. Win or go home. That's just really it – consistency."
Coach Gregg Popovich blamed the loss on "a little bit of everything," but cited his team's inability to protect the ball as the key factor. The Silver and Black coughed up 15 turnovers that Indiana converted into 24 points.
"That had more to do with it than defense," Popovich said.
Patty Mills (24) and Trey Lyles (20) led the scoring for San Antonio, which played its third consecutive game without injured power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder.
Center Jakob Poeltl also missed the game after injuring his right knee in Saturday's 114-113 victory against Orlando. The Spurs did not release a timetable on Poeltl's return, but he posted on his Facebook page that he expects to be sidelined two to four weeks.
Aldridge did not go to Charlotte with the team, but "we're hoping he'll be available when we get to Brooklyn," Popovich said. "He's going to do a little bit more work here for a couple of days and then he'll head out, assuming that all goes well."
The Spurs play Brooklyn on Friday and cap the road trip against Cleveland on Sunday.
Lyles had another strong game filling in for Aldridge, knocking down 4 of 7 three-pointers, and adding six rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 38 minutes. Mills came off the bench and made 7 of 13 shots, including 6 of 11 from three-point range.
Popovich cited Lyles for his performance.
"He’s steady," Popovich said. "He’s played well night after night. We need to get more consistent play out of more players. It’s all about being competitive and executing and you have to do it for more of the 48 minutes than your opponent and we didn’t do anything in the second quarter to help ourselves.
"In the second half we competed...and did a really good job, but little things got us execution wise and Indiana did a good job.”
The Spurs led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter Monday, but the Pacers outscored them 40-23 in the second period to take a 66-57 at the half.
