Phoenix Suns (11-41) vs. Spurs (29-22)
When, where: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center
Last season: Spurs won 4-0
All-time series record: Spurs lead 95-77
Season series: Spurs lead 2-1
Last meeting: Spurs 111, Suns 86, Dec. 11, AT&T Center
Suns' last game: Lost to Lakers 116-102, Sunday, Los Angeles
Spurs' last game: Beat Pelicans 132-119 Sunday, AT&T Center
Suns' last 10 games/streak: 1-9, lost eight
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, won two
Suns' injury/inactive report: Center Deandre Dayton (left ankle sprain), doubtful; forward George King (G League assignment), out; guard DeAnthony Melton (right ankle sprain), out; forward T.J. Warren (right ankle soreness), out.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Guard DeMar DeRozan (left knee soreness), forward Drew Eubanks (G League assignment), out; forward Ben Moore (G League assignment), out; point guard Dejounte Murray (torn right anterior cruciate ligament), out.
Notable: The Spurs have won 10 straight at home against the Suns . . . After playing the Suns, the Silver and Black host Brooklyn on Thursday and New Orleans on Saturday. San Antonio has eight games left before the All-Star break, with the last five on the road . . . San Antonio opens its annual Rodeo Road Trip next Monday. The Spurs will play eight consecutive road games before hosting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Feb. 27 . . . The Silver and Black are 18-8 since dropping three games below .500 with back-to-back road losses to the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 4-5 . . . The Spurs are the only NBA team with an all-time winning record against every team in the league.
GAME PREVIEW
SAN ANTONIO – With only three games left before they embark on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, the Spurs are focused on only one thing heading into Tuesday night’s clash with the Phoenix Suns.
Win at home.
The Silver and Black opened a four-game home stand on the right foot Sunday, beating the Washington Wizards 132-119 behind another strong performance by All-NBA forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aldridge just missed recording a double-double, finishing with 30 points and nine rebounds. The victory snapped a two-game home skid for the Spurs, who play the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday and New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
The Silver and Black (29-22) played their second consecutive game without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who is sidelined with a sore left knee. DeRozan is listed as out for Tuesday night’s game on the Spurs’ injury report.
Aldridge was among seven players who scored in double figures for San Antonio, which is tied with Utah for sixth in the Western Conference standings. Forward Davis Bertans, who had missed the previous two games for personal reasons, came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points. He hit 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 8 from the three-point line.
Bertans, who has developed into one of the team’s best reserves, continued to impress Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“He shoots threes. That’s what he does,” Popovich said. “But he’s helped himself by learning how to put it down and drive it, so people can’t just play him one way. He has found his teammates out there in those situations, so he’s become a more well-rounded player, offensively.
“And defensively, he’s worked really hard to take care of the weakness that he’s had, and he’s been really fantastic in that attempt.”
Bertans also drew praise from Wizards coach Scott Brooks.
“We had trouble keeping up with [Davis] Bertans,” Brooks said. “He was all over the floor. We couldn’t catch him on his threes, he kept going by us on his dribbles and he got everything that he wanted, and I thought he was a big part of it.
“Their second unit came in and made shots – they’re a good team. Obviously, anytime you play against Pop [Gregg Popovich], they’re going to play hard and they’re going to play together.”
Bertans led a Spurs bench that outscored Washington’s reserves 54-27.
Derrick White (16), Bryn Forbes (16), Patty Mills (15), Marco Belinelli (13) and Rudy Gay (11) rounded out the Silver and Black’s double-digit scoring.
The Spurs will be looking to shore up their defense when they play the Wizards, who are last in the Western Conference with an 11-41 record. San Antonio led Washington 36-26 after one quarter, but the Wizards outscored the Spurs 43-34 in the second to cut the deficit to one (70-69) at the half.
The Silver and Black tightened up their defense in the third quarter, holding Washington to 17 points on 7-of-24 shooting. San Antonio led 99-86 heading into the third period.
Asked what the difference was between the Spurs’ defense in the second and third quarters, guard Derrick White said: “I think we were just active and flying around. We kept them in front better in the second half than we did in the first half. They kept driving past us, help came and they were getting open looks, so we made an adjustment and kept them in front.”
The Silver and Black outscored the Wizards 62-50 in the second half.
San Antonio starts its 19th annual Rodeo Road Trip at Sacramento on Monday. The Spurs will play eight consecutive road games before returning home to host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Silver and Black have eight games left, including five straight on the road, before the All-Star break (Feb. 15-17).
The Silver and Black have gone on an extended road trip each year since 2003 to make room at the AT&T Center for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which runs Feb. 7 through Feb. 24.