The San Antonio Spurs have been at their best this season when facing the top teams in the NBA. That pattern will be tested again when they host the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
The Spurs have victories against the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks and — on Dec. 4 — Golden State in San Francisco, but they have struggled to win consistently despite seldom getting blown out. Through 51 games, 32 of them losses, San Antonio’s total point differential is minus-5.
The Spurs head home after a 115-110 road loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. San Antonio, playing without three of its normal starters, took the league’s best team to the final two minutes before the Suns made the plays down the stretch and completed a 12-point comeback in the final quarter.
“There was nobody that played badly,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after the loss. “(We) played together, we were physical, we had great pace. (We) played with confidence against a hell of a team. Sure, I want fewer mistakes and I want a win, but it is hard to ask for more than what they gave.”
Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 24 points while Lonnie Walker IV added 22, Keldon Johnson hit for 16 points, Tre Jones scored 15 and Joshua Primo contributed 13. San Antonio was outscored 36-19 in the final period.
“We battled, but there are a lot of things we can learn from (Sunday),” Jones said. “We all felt like we could have won that game. We had some errors we made throughout the second half. It’s a learning experience for us.”
The Spurs played without Dejounte Murray (left knee contusion) and Jakob Poeltl (back soreness) as well as Derrick White, who was held out for rest. San Antonio is 4-15 this season when Murray, White and Poeltl aren’t all in the lineup. Sunday’s game was the first time this season all three players were out simultaneously. All three are expected to play on Tuesday.
The Warriors head to San Antonio for the second game of a road back-to-back after a 122-108 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday. Golden State, which has won six straight games, was led by Stephen Curry’s 40 points and Andrew Wiggins’ 23.
“We’re just trying to play with joy,” Curry said. “You can win games a lot of different ways when you have a talented team like we do. And, you know, a lot of guys can step up in any given night, and it’s fun to play that way.”
Klay Thomson added 14 points for Golden State but shot just 1 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc. Rookie Moses Moody matched his career high with 11 points in his second career start. The Warriors shot 53.8 percent from the floor while holding Houston to just 42.9 percent.
Golden State played without Draymond Green, who missed his 12th straight game with a back injury, and Otto Porter Jr., sidelined due to a sore left foot.
The Warriors lead the NBA in opponents’ scoring, opponents’ field-goal percentage and opponents’ 3-point percentage.
San Antonio has won seven of its past 10 games against the Warriors.
