Spurs (24-31) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (34-22)
When, where: Sunday, 6 p.m., Chesapeake Energy Arena, OKC
All-time series record: Spurs lead 96-77
Last season: Spurs won 2-1
Season series: Spurs lead 2-1
Last meeting: Spurs 114, Thunder 106, Feb. 11, OKC
Spurs' last game: Beat Jazz 113-104, Friday, Salt Lake City
Thunder's last game: Beat Denver Nuggets 113-101, Friday, OKC
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 4-6, won two
Thunder's last 10 games/streak: 7-3, won two
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward/center Drew Eubanks (G League), out; forward Luka Samanic (G League), out; Quindarry Weatherspoon (G League), out.
Thunder's injury/inactive report: Forward/guard Darius Bazley (right knee; bone bruise), out; guard/ forward Andre Roberson (left knee; injury recovery), out.
Notable: Sunday's game is the last meeting of the regular season between the Thunder and the Spurs . . . OKC is sixth in the Western Conference standings and San Antonio is 10th, 3.5 games behind No. 8 Memphis (28-28). The top eight teams in each conference advance to the playoffs. No. 9 Portland (25-32) is mere percentage points (.439-.436) ahead of San Antonio . . . The Spurs will end their eight-game Rodeo Road Trip with a losing record for the second consecutive year. They started the trip 0-5 before ending the skid with victories against OKC on Feb. 11 and Utah on Friday night . . . The Silver and Black's next home game is Wednesday against Interstate 35 rival Dallas. The tipoff time has been moved to 7:30 p.m.
GAME PREVIEW
The last time the Spurs played in Oklahoma City, they stopped a five-game slide with a 114-106 victory against the Thunder in their last game before the All-Star break.
Twelve days later, the Silver and Black face the challenge of having to win in OKC again to sustain the momentum they generated with a big road victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The Spurs end their eight-game Rodeo Road Trip in OKC on Sunday. A San Antonio victory would give the Silver and Black three straight wins for only the third time this season. The Spurs started the trek 0-5 before the victories against OKC and Utah.
Point guard Dejounte Murray was outstanding in the 113-104 win over the Jazz, scoring a team-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and adding seven rebounds, four assists and four assists.
“I’m playing all right," said Murray, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury. "I always feel like I have room to improve and when you get to play with freedom, it brings the best out of you because it builds confidence and your teammates and coaches believe in you. Like I said, I’m playing all right, I could do a lot better. I just want to win at the end of the day.”
Murray, a fourth-year pro, has averaged 19.8 points and shot 60 percent from the field in his last four games.
Murray keyed a 17-0 run late in the second half that stopped a Utah rally that had cut San Antonio's lead to four points. Murray scored three baskets in the run, with his last one putting the Silver and Black up 65-44.
"I thought Dejounte was great tonight, not only defending but getting to his spots and getting everybody set up," said San Antonio assistant coach Becky Hammon, who spoke to the media after the game. "He was a big difference-maker for us.”
Murray also played well in the Spurs' 114-106 victory in OKC on Feb. 11, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 25 points, too, and added 14 rebounds.
Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan, who missed the last two games before the All-Star break with back spasms, returned to the starting lineup Friday and finished with 18 points and a team-high seven assists.
While all wins are important in the season's homestretch, the victory against the Jazz was especially heartening for the Silver and Black.
“Yeah, especially on the road, especially in this building," DeRozan said. "They’re one of the best teams playing at home so it was big for us to come out there out the (All-Star) break with this game to kind of close this trip off the right way.”
The loss was only the sixth at home for Utah, which is fourth in the Western Conference standings.
"Every win is big for us now," Hammon said. "It doesn't matter where we are or who we are playing. It's crunch time for us."
LaMarcus Aldridge (15), Patty Mills (15), Derrick White (14) and Bryn Forbes (13) also scored in double figures for the Silver and Black. Forbes nailed 4 of 6 three-pointers and White hit a three-pointer that put the Spurs 109-95 with 3:17 left.
“I think we’re just playing better as a whole," White said. "Leading up to this, we weren’t getting the wins, necessarily, but we were playing better. Now we’re taking those things to the next level and finishing out with wins.”
The Thunder have won two games in a row and 11 of their last 14.
The Spurs have 27 games left in the regular season, 15 at home and 12 on the road.
