Spurs (18-23) vs. Phoenix Suns (18-24)
When, where: Monday, 8 p.m., Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix
All-time series record: Spurs lead 97-77
Last season: Spurs won 3-1
Season series: Spurs lead 1-0
Last meeting: Spurs 121, Suns 119, OT, Dec. 14, Mexico City
Spurs' last game: Beat Miami Heat 107-102, Sunday, AT&T Center
Suns' last game: Beat Celtics 123-119, Saturday, Boston
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, won one
Suns' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, won two
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward DeMarre Carroll (illness), out; forward Rudy Gay (illness), out; forward Luka Samanic (G League), out Quinndary Weatherspoon (G League), out.
Suns' injury/inactive report: Center/forward Aron Baynes (left hip; soreness), doubtful; guard Jared Harper (G League), out; forward Cameron Johnson (right quad; contusion), questionable; forward/center Frank Kaminsky, (right patella; stress fracture), out; forward/guard Kelly Oubre Jr., Kelly (concussion protocol), probable; forward Tariq Owens (G League), out.
Notable: Monday's game is the first of two in a row on the road for the Spurs. The Silver and Black play at New Orleans on Wednesday. Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is expected to make his pro debut against the Spurs . . . San Antonio is No. 9 in the Western Conference standings heading into Monday's game, only a half-game ahead of No. 10 Phoenix. The Silver and Black trail No. 8 Memphis by 1.5 games.
GAME PREVIEW
A win over a quality opponent socked away before leaving town, the Spurs play the Phoenix Suns on the second night of a back-to-back Monday night.
Frustrated by a one-point loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks at home Friday night, the Silver and Black bounced back with a hard-fought 107-102 victory against the Miami Heat on Sunday at the AT&T Center.
While the Spurs outscored Miami 36-30 from the three-point line, the key stat was their fourth-quarter defense. After allowing the Heat 31, 23 and 30 points in the first three periods, Miami scored only 18 points in the fourth.
"That was huge," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Heat shot only 38.1 percent from the field (8-21) and went 0 for 7 from the three-point line in the fourth quarter. The Spurs were worse offensively in the pivotal period, shooting only 20 percent overall (5-25) and 22.2 percent (2-9) from beyond the arc.
But the point is, the Silver and Black made enough stops to hold on for the victory. Veteran guard Patty Mills, who nailed four three-pointers and finished with 18 points, talked about the team's defensive intensity in the fourth quarter.
"I think we just worked defensively, of getting the job done together, which is the opposite of what we’ve done in Miami and even the last game against Atlanta," Mills said. "And on top of that, we made winning plays and we came up with loose balls and got rebounds.
"It was great for us to be able to execute when we needed to. So, it was a good way to come out of two pretty salty losses and come out and execute well down the stretch.”
The win over the Heat avenged a 106-100 loss Wednesday in Miami.
LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs' scoring with 21 and 20 points, respectively.
DeRozan just missed recording a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and nine assists. He also saw his streak of 13 games with 20+ points, 3+ assists, and 50-percent shooting end. DeRozan scored his 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
The Silver and Black are 1-0 against the Suns, winning 121-119 in overtime in Mexico City on Dec. 14. But the Suns have won two in a row and are coming off a 123-119 victory in Boston on Saturday.
No. 9 in the Western Conference standings, San Antonio leads No. 10 Phoenix by only a half-game. The teams are tied in the victory column (18), but the Suns have one more loss (24) than the Spurs.
Regardless, the Silver and Black will need another strong effort to win in Phoenix again. The Suns are led by guard Devin Booker, who ranks ninth in scoring with a 26.5 average. Booker is also averaging 4.1 and 6.4 assists per game. Booker had 39 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Saturday's win over the Celtics.
"We've got to be ready to go at tipoff," Spurs guard Derrick White said. "They've got a lot of talent. Booker is one of the best players in the league and (Ricky) Rubio is one of the top point guards.
"We need all the wins we can get. Every night is going to be an important one. We've just got to be consistent and build off it.”
