Spurs look to continue winning ways on road versus Bulls Monday

San Antonio has held each of their last five opponents under 90 points

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20), of Argentina, talks to Spurs guard Tony Parker, right, of France, and Spurs forward Tim Duncan during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 108-88. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs face the Chicago Bulls Monday night hoping to extend their winning streak to six games.

San Antonio has been playing better than most teams of late, especially at the defensive end. The Spurs crushed the Atlanta Hawks 108-88 on Saturday to run their winning streak to five and have held each of their last five opponents under 90 points.

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The Chicago Bulls had some trouble against two of the better teams in the league on their recent four-game road trip and ended up falling at Golden State and Indiana.

The Bulls hope to have better success at home when they face another of the NBA’s top teams in the San Antonio Spurs.

Chicago held a late lead before falling at Golden State on Nov. 20 but had a harder time keeping pace at Indiana in a 104-92 loss on Friday.

“They outplayed us at both ends, point blank, period,” Bulls guard Jimmy Butler told reporters. “Turnovers, missed shots, they just outplayed us both ends of the floor. Not too much to blame it on. They played better.”

TV: 7 p.m. CT, NBATV, FSN Southwest

ABOUT THE SPURS (14-3): San Antonio is allowing an average of 83.4 points during its latest winning streak and did not allow any Atlanta starter to score more than 10 points in Saturday’s drubbing. Star forward Kawhi Leonard is averaging 23.2 points on 53.8 percent shooting and 8.4 rebounds over the last five games and knocked down 13-of-22 3-point attempts in that span. The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year was part of a perimeter effort that held the Hawks to 6-of-26 from 3-point range in Saturday’s triumph.

Heres a look at Kawhi's shooting differential on the road versus playing at home:

Kawhi Leonard 2014-15 Home/Away Shooting Splits | PointAfter

ABOUT THE BULLS (9-5): Derrick Rose missed the first two games of the road trip with a sprained ankle and had a hard time working his way into the offense when he came back, going 11-of-36 from the field in a win over Portland and the loss at Indiana.

“I missed a lot of layups and bunnies, turnovers, missed layups, floaters, shots I normally hit with my left hand,” Rose told reporters after going 4-of-16 against the Pacers. “… We came out sluggish, I came out sluggish, had (two) turnovers in the first quarter, missed bunnies. I have to change that next game.”

Rose has scored 20 or more points twice in 12 games while failing to reach double digits three times.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The home team took each of the two meetings last season, with Rose scoring 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the Bulls’ Jan. 22 home win.

2. San Antonio C Tim Duncan rested on the first night of the back-to-back on Friday and returned with a season-high 18 rebounds in 28 minutes on Saturday.

3. Chicago F Nikola Mirotic is averaging 18.7 points over the last three games.


About the Author:

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.