Spurs (5-11) vs. New York Knicks (4-11)
When, where: Saturday, 6:30 p.m., Madison Square Garden, New York
All-time series record: Spurs lead 54-40
Last season: Spurs lead 1-0
Last meeting: Spurs 120, Knicks 111, Oct. 23, AT&T Center
Spurs' last game: Lost to 76ers 115-104, Friday, Philadelphia
Knicks' last game: Lost to 6ers 109-104, Wednesday, Philadelphia
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 1-9, lost eight
Knicks' last 10 games/streak: 3-7, lost one
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Not yet submitted
Knicks' injury/inactive report: Forward Kadeem Allen (G League), out; Ignas Brazdeikis (G League), out; Reggie Bullock (neck; cervical disc herniation), out; Elfrid Payton (strained right hamstring), out; Ivan Rabb (G League), out.
Notable: The Spurs end a four-game road trip Saturday night against the New York Knicks. San Antonio opened the season with a 120-111 victory over the Knicks on Oct. 23 at the AT&T Center.
- The Silver and Black are 1-7 on the road this season.
- San Antonio's eight-game losing streak is its longest since November 1996.
- The franchise record for most consecutive losses is 13, set in 1988-89, the season before David Robinson joined the team.
GAME PREVIEW
If it's true that misery loves company, the Spurs can take solace in being stuck near the bottom of the NBA's Western Conference with Golden State, which has won three of the league's last five titles and played in five straight Finals.
Mired in their longest losing streak since the 1996-97 season, the Silver and Black (5-11) are ahead of only the Warriors (3-14) in the West.
San Antonio is tied with Portland for 13th in the West, only percentage points behind two other five-win teams, No. 11 Memphis (.357) and No. 12 Oklahoma City (.333).
Philadelphia beat the Spurs 115-104 on Friday, extending the Silver and Black's skid to eight games on the first night of a back-to-back on the road.
The Spurs end their four-game road trip Saturday night against the New York Knicks, a team they beat 120-111 in their season opener exactly a month ago at the AT&T Center. New York is next to last in the East standings and 3-4 at home this season.
San Antonio jumped out to a 3-0 start at home and won four of its first five games before going off the rails.
The Silver and Black have gone 1-10 since their 4-1 start and haven't won since LaMarcus Aldridge went off for 39 points in a 121-112 victory against Oklahoma City on Nov. 7 at the AT&T Center.
"This is the first, the first for everybody," veteran Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said, referring to the losing streak. "We’re figuring it out on the go. It sucks. This hurts, frustrating, all of the emotions that aren’t good."
Poor defense proved to be the Spurs' undoing again. While they scored enough points to win, they simply couldn't string together enough stops to give themselves a chance down the stretch.
"We’re trying to put it together defensively," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "When you have a challenge like that, it can be as satisfying as anything else. You’d rather win, but if you’re not winning, at least watch the guys improve and work on stuff. Things don’t always go your way."
DeRozan led the Spurs' scoring again with 29 points, and Rudy Gay had a season-high 22 off the bench.
DeRozan was blunt when he talked about the team's sieve-like defense after the game.
"We have to realize we are (expletive) defensively," DeRozan said. "Plain and simple. We are terrible. We have to take more pride in it. It’s embarrassing."
The Sixers, who shot 51.7 percent (46-89) from the field, became the third straight S.A. opponent to make at least 50 percent of its attempts. Tobias Harris (26) and Joel Imbid (21) led the scoring for Philadelphia, which had all five starters finish in double figures.
Sixers guard Ben Simmons recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
Philadelphia seized the lead with 9:22 left in the first period and never trailed again. The Spurs pulled to within one in the third quarter and trailed by only five after Patty Mills knocked down a three-pointer in the first two minutes of the fourth period. But the Silver and Black couldn't overtake the Sixers.
Gay also spoke about the Spurs' beleaguered defense.
"It’s a team that’s capable of playing defense," Gay said. "Individually we have to take pride in what we do every night. Not just big nights and big teams. We have to do it every night. We have to play harder on both ends."
Asked about the psychological toll the losing streak is taking on the team, Gay said: "Everybody in this locker room is pretty much professional. We take it very serious. This is one of those things where you've got to do what we can, no matter what, to get this next win."
