Spurs at Rockets
The Houston Rockets are the hottest team in the NBA with 10 consecutive victories but they still trail the San Antonio Spurs by 1 1/2 games in the Southwest Division. Houston attempts to pick up more ground on Tuesday when it hosts the Spurs, who have won four straight contests and 17 of their last 19.
The Rockets nearly saw their winning streak end on Saturday, when they trailed by 12 points with 2:04 to play before rallying for an improbable 111-109 overtime victory versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. "We had a pretty off-night overall, but we made shots when it counted and stayed with it," forward Ryan Anderson told reporters. "You have to say something about resiliency and also just we have so much confidence in each other." San Antonio is an NBA-best 14-1 on the road as it opens a three-game road trip that includes games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers. The Spurs averaged 114.5 points while winning their last four contests, including a 113-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE SPURS (22-5): Point guard Tony Parker posted double-digit scoring totals in each of the past four games and San Antonio is 10-0 this season when he scores 10 or more points. Parker is 23-of-43 shooting during the four-game stretch and also had 21 assists against four turnovers. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points against the Pelicans for his first 20-point outing of the month as well as halting a slump in which he averaged just 10.5 points in a four-game span.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (21-7): Houston connected on 17 3-pointers in the victory over Minnesota to extend a of couple NBA records -- five consecutive games with 15 or more 3-pointers and 27 straight contests with 10 or more. Anderson knocked down a season-best seven of the 3-pointers while scoring 28 points and point guard James Harden had 28 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds to narrowly miss his third straight triple-double. The Rockets have attempted 112 3-point shots over their last two games and set an NBA record by making 24 in Friday's victory over New Orleans.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split two contests earlier this season but the Spurs won seven of the past nine meetings.
2. San Antonio SF Kawhi Leonard scored a season-low 13 points against New Orleans and tallied less than 20 in two consecutive games after reaching that threshold in 15 of the previous 16 contests.
3. Houston C Clint Capela (leg) won't play after being injured on Saturday and the club is awaiting results to see if he suffered a broken fibula.