Spurs at Rockets
The San Antonio Spurs set a record on Saturday by playing in their fourth consecutive overtime contest - a stretch that began with a double-overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Dec. 3. The Spurs will try to decide things in regulation when they visit the Rockets on Monday.
The extra session seems to be working well for San Antonio, which is 3-1 during the stretch, though coach Gregg Popovich described the experience as "awful" after watching his team claim a 121-119 victory over Phoenix in Mexico on Saturday. "It's a credit to us all hanging in there and executing when we're all tired," Spurs guard Patty Mills told reporters. "It's good to leave a lasting memory for the fans of Mexico." Houston star James Harden scored 50 points in that double-OT loss to San Antonio and has not let up on his prolific scoring pace with at least 39 points in each of the last three contests. Harden posted back-to-back 50-plus efforts in a pair of wins before "slumping" to 39 in a 115-107 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, KENS (San Antonio), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE SPURS (10-15): San Antonio got a big boost from the second unit in Mexico as Mills led the team with 24 points, Lonnie Walker IV scored 16 and Rudy Gay finished with a double-double. Walker was the key to the Dec. 3 triumph over Houston with a career-high 28 points but was forced to exit late on Saturday due to an injury and is day-to-day. Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge sat out that Dec. 3 contest with a thigh injury but posted double-doubles in the next two contests and collected 18 points and seven rebounds on Saturday.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (17-9): Harden leads the NBA in scoring at an average of 39.3 points and went for 50 or more in four of the last eight contests. The former MVP knocked down 10 3-pointers each stop on a two-game road trip - victories at Cleveland and Orlando - but was 4-of-13 from beyond the arc on Saturday and drew a technical foul for arguing with officials. Fellow former MVP Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double in the Dec. 3 meeting but was just 7-of-30 from the floor and should be well rested for the rematch after sitting out on Saturday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets G Chris Clemons, who went scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in the Dec. 3 meeting, scored 17 points off the bench on Saturday.
2. Spurs G Bryn Forbes is 1-of-14 from the floor, including 0-of-8 from beyond the arc, in the last two games.
3. San Antonio snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with the Dec. 3 triumph.