Spurs at Suns
The San Antonio Spurs strive to emerge from a mini-funk when they visit the struggling Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. San Antonio has dropped three of its last four games, including Monday's 104-99 setback against the Sacramento Kings in the opener of a three-game trek.
Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan continues to fit in well with the Spurs and had 23 points against Sacramento for his ninth 20-point outing of the campaign. "We got to move on from it and bounce back," DeRozan told reporters of the loss to the Kings. "We've got a game in Phoenix, and we have to understand it's early in the season. We have to understand that we got to keep stepping up and understand what we got to do to close out these games, especially on the road." The Suns have lost four consecutive games and first-year coach Igor Kokoskov was distressed with the team's slow start in Monday's 118-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "The way we opened the game, no presence, no life whatsoever," Kokoskov told reporters. "We were behind 20 points in the first quarter. That's hard. It put us in a situation that we have to compete and play the whole game and every possession has got to be perfect. You're looking for that spark, looking for that energy to bring us back in the game."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (San Antonio), FS Arizona
ABOUT THE SPURS (7-5): San Antonio suffered defensive lapses during the loss to the Kings as Sacramento made 50 percent of its field-goal attempts while connecting on 11-of-24 3-pointers and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge wanted nothing to do with any talk that the players are still getting to know each other. "Just got to know who you are guarding," Aldridge told reporters. "You have to come mentally prepared to do better. I don't think that's about getting to know each other. That's about knowing the game plan and executing it." Veteran small forward Rudy Gay (heel) returned from a three-game absence and had 14 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
ABOUT THE SUNS (2-11): Phoenix is losing by an average of 16.5 points during its skid and is allowing opponents to shoot 48.9 percent on the season, which is next-to-last in the NBA. A bright spot has been the play of small forward TJ Warren, who is averaging 25 points over the past three games and has knocked down 20 3-pointers to match last season's total. "He's a crafty scorer," forward Trevor Ariza told reporters. "He finds a way to put the ball in the basket. I don't expect anything different. That's just who he is."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs recorded a 120-90 victory over the Suns on Oct. 31 for their 14th win in the past 15 meetings.
2. Phoenix SG Devin Booker is averaging just 15.5 points on 11-of-30 shooting over the past two games.
3. San Antonio C Pau Gasol (foot) will miss his fourth consecutive contest.