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SPURS GAMEDAY: Shoring up defense still top priority for Silver and Black

The Spurs start a three-game road trip in Sacramento on Monday.

GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE

Spurs (7-4) vs. Sacramento Kings (7-6)

When, where: Monday, 9:30 p.m., Sacramento

Last season: Spurs won series 4-0

All-time series record: Spurs lead 120-55

Last meeting: Spurs 98, Kings 85, April 9, 2018, AT&T Center

Spurs' last game: Beat Houston Rockets 96-89, Saturday, AT&T Center

Kings' last game: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 101-86, Saturday, Los Angeles

Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, won one

Kings' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, lost one

Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward/center Pau Gasol (left foot soreness), out; forward Rudy Gay (right heel soreness), probable; center Jakob Poeltl (sprained right ankle), probable; guard Lonnie Walker IV (right medial meniscus), out; guard Dejounte Murray (right ACL), out; forward Drew Eubanks (playing with G league team).

Kings injury/inactive report: Center Kosta Koufus (calf), out.

Notable: The Spurs have beaten the Kings 14 consecutive times, with half of those victories coming in Sacramento. The Kings haven't defeated San Antonio at home since Nov. 15, 2014. . . Monday's stop in Sacramento is the first of three straight road games for the Spurs, who won't play at the AT&T Center until they host defending league champion Golden State on Sunday . . . Monday starts a stretch in which the Silver and Black will play eight of their next 10 games, and 10 of their next 13, on the road.

GAME PREVIEW

For the Spurs, the game always comes down to one thing: defense.

After losing back-to-back games and being called "soft" by coach Gregg Popovich, the Silver and Black were workmanlike in a 96-89 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

All-NBA guard DeMar DeRozan, the Spurs' leading scorer, finished with a season-low 13 points, but he had a team-high 11 rebounds. His performance on the boards reflected the Silver and Black's effort to have a sharper edge on both ends of the court.

Struggling mightily on offense this season, the Rockets found no relief against the Spurs' much-maligned defense. Houston shot only 33.3 percent (30-90) and missed 32 of 41 three-pointers. Or, put another way, they made only 9 of 41 shots from beyond the arc.

"Yeah, we were trying to be competitive on the defensive end, trying to make everything tough on them," DeRozan said. "(There were) a few that they missed that were wide open, but we never gave them a chance to get a rhythm like they normally get in. We just try to go out there and play hard."

The Spurs have shown signs of progress defensively, holding four of their last five opponents to 95 points or less.

Asked if his players demonstrated the competitiveness against Houston that he expects, Popovich replied: "Sure. The last two rebounds that DeMar got . . . they were huge. Those kinds of things win basketball games. We turned it over 12 times in the first half and three in the second. We did a lot better job on not fouling. These guys are learning all the time."

"A lot of new faces, a new system and a lot of guys who haven't played with each other, so I've got to be patient, which I'm not sometimes, I know. It's a balance between being patient and demanding things, so they're reacting pretty well, I think."

The Spurs (7-4) will get back to the grind Monday night when they start a three-game road trip against the Kings (7-6) in Sacramento.

Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan, scoring on a layup against Houston Rockets center Clint Capela, had a team-high 11 rebounds in San Antonio's 96-89 victory Saturday at the AT&T Center. Photo by Antonio Morano (bit.ly/XR79FT) / Special to KENS5.com

Veteran forward Rudy Gay, who has missed the last three games with soreness in his right heel, is expected to play against the Kings. Gay averaged 19.3 points in four seasons with Sacramento before signing with San Antonio as a free agent in July 2017. His final year with the Kings was marred by a season-ending Achilles' injury he sustained in January 2017.

The Silver and Black have had their way with Sacramento for the past four years, beating the Kings 14 consecutive times. Half of those victories have come on Sacramento's home floor.

The Spurs will face a Kings team that has improved substantially on offense, averaging 115.3 points. They averaged 98.8 points last season, last in the league.

DeRozan, who is in his first season with the Spurs and 10th in the NBA, has been a force on both ends of the court. Averaging 25.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists, DeRozan already has set career highs in rebounding (14) and assists (14).

While he's one of the best scorers in the league, DeRozan has proven that he will do whatever it takes to win.

"It's up to myself at times to figure out the ways to impact the game," DeRozan said after Saturday's game. "Tonight, it was rebounding. I didn't want to give them second and third attempts at trying to knock down threes. Just reading, feeling the game, understanding other ways when you can do something else that affects the game."

After Monday night's game, the Spurs play at Phoenix on Wednesday and meet the Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday.

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