The San Antonio Spurs can match an NBA record for consecutive road
wins to start a season if they defeat the Chicago Bulls ontonight at the United Center.
The Spurs are 13-0 and could tie the Golden State Warriors, who set
the mark by going undefeated in their first 14 road games last
season.
"It's hard to win an NBA game, especially on the road," reserve
guard Patty Mills told Fox Sports Southwest after scoring 15 points
in the Spurs' 105-91 win Tuesday at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"Maybe that extra focus, knowing that we're in another team's
building and (they're) wanting to come out trying to beat us,
there's that little bit of extra focus or energy or effort,
whatever it may be. But we can't pinpoint (why) at the moment, and
nor should we try to figure it out. Long season, I guess."
It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Spurs center Pau Gasol,
who played the past two seasons with the Bulls and signed with San
Antonio as a free agent in the offseason.
Gasol, 36, has only missed one game for the Spurs (18-4). He's
averaging 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Gasol could give
the post-challenged Bulls matchup problems, but Chicago will also
need to dedicate a significant amount of focus on defending forward
Kawhi Leonard.
San Antonio's leading scorer (24.5 points per game) is coming off a
31-point performance against the Timberwolves, despite a slow start
in that game. Leonard, 25, is averaging nearly four more minutes
per game than his career average of 30.1 and scoring about 10 more
points per game than his 14.9 career average.
"By this point in his career, he's a confident player," Spurs coach
Gregg Poppovich told Fox Sports Southwest. "He knows he's got a
green light. We call his number now and then, but he does a lot of
this stuff on his own, and he's getting pretty good at
pick-and-roll. So, he just advances his game every year a little
bit in some fashion. Special young man."
The Bulls (11-10) are coming off a 102-91 loss Tuesday at the
Detroit Pistons, when they were outplayed in the fourth quarter
after overcoming a 17-point deficit in the first half. Chicago has
lost three straight games, four of its past five and is just 3-6
since winning four straight Nov. 10-17.
The Bulls have allowed 100-plus points in seven of those nine games.
"The problem is not on the offensive end," guard Jimmy Butler told
CSN Chicago. "(The Pistons) got whatever they wanted. We're not
defending the way we're capable. We're messing up assignments, not
boxing out, not playing to guys' weaknesses. We gotta fix it. All
of these count early on. We have to turn this around."
Butler is doing his part. The Bulls' leading scorer scored 32
against the Pistons and is averaging 26 points a game. Over the
past 10 games, Butler is averaging 27.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and
10.7 free-throw attempts.
He's just not getting enough consistent help from Dwyane Wade,
Rajon Rondo or others in the Bulls' playing rotation. Rondo
returned to the lineup against the Pistons after serving a one-game
suspension for a reported altercation with an assistant coach.
Chicago also made a series of roster moves Wednesday involving the
Windy City Bulls of the D-League. They recalled forward Doug
McDermott from their D-League affiliate. They also recalled guard
R.J. Hunter and rookie forward Pau Zipser after sending both to the
D-League about two hours earlier.
The Spurs might not have veteran guard Tony Parker, who is
questionable after bruising his knee in San Antonio's 97-96 win
Monday at the Milwaukee Bucks.
