Houston Rockets (13-6) vs. Spurs (7-14)
When, where: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center
All-time series record: Spurs lead 108-89
Last season: Rockets won series 3-1
Season series: First meeting
Last meeting: Rockets 111, Spurs 105, March 22, Houston
Rockets' last game: Beat Atlanta Hawks 158-111, Saturday, Houston
Spurs' last game: Lost to Pistons 132-98, Sunday, Detroit
Rockets' last 10 games/streak: 7-3, won two
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 2-8, lost one
Rockets' injury/inactive report: Guard Michael Frazier (G League), out; guard Eric Gordon (right knee; arthroscopy), out; guard/forward Gerald Green (left cuneiform; fracture), out; center/forward Nene Hilario (left abductor; strain), out; forward/guard Danuel House Jr. (illness), questionable.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward LaMarcus Aldridge (right thigh; soreness), out; guard/forward Keldon Johnson (G League), out; forward Chimezie Metu (G League), out; forward Luka Samanic (G League), out; guard Quindarry Weatherspoon (G League), out.
Notable: Friday night's home game against Sacramento will be the last this week for the Spurs, who won't play again until hosting Cleveland on Thursday, Dec. 12..
GAME PREVIEW
So much for the Spurs using their victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday as a springboard to start turning around their season.
After holding the Clippers under 100 points in a 10-point win at the AT&T Center, the Silver and Black laid an egg in Detroit two nights later.
With the Spurs showing little fight on either side of the court, the Pistons rolled to a 132-98 rout.
The performance was one of the worst of the season for the Silver and Black, who dropped to 7-14 and lost for the 11th time in 13 games. San Antonio is 3-13 since starting the season 4-1.
"We came out more aggressively against the Clippers, (with) more energy, more execution at both ends of the court," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They scored 97 (points) and tonight we gave up 132 (points).
"Disappointing performance and Detroit gets credit. They outplayed us in every facet of the game. So, it was brutal, a disappointing evening.”
The Spurs get back to the grind Tuesday night when they host the Houston Rockets (13-8).
Forward DeMar DeRozan finished with 20 points against Detroit to lead the scoring for the Spurs, who shot 41 percent (36-88) from the field, including 27 percent (7-26) from the three-point line.
Detroit shot a scorching 59 percent (52-88) overall and 48 percent (15-31) from beyond the arc, outscoring the Silver and Black 45-21 from long distance.
"It was another night where they made threes and we didn't," Popovich said. "But beyond that, I thought they did everything else better than we did.”
The Spurs played without forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who has a sore right thigh. and will miss Tuesday night's game.
Guard Lonnie Walker IV came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and Rudy Gay, who started in Aldridge's spot, finished with 12 points.
Asked what he thought the team's takeaway was from the loss, Walker said: “Defense mainly. First and foremost, we've got to get better defensively as a team and just bring energy.
"That's what it is. We have the talent, we have the players, we have the coaches. We have every aspect but we're just not bringing it defensively, and our energy is not up to par.”
Backup forward Christian Wood had a double-double for the Pistons, scoring a game-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. Luke Kennard scored 20 points and Andre Drummond had a game-high 16 rebounds.
