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Bulls-Spurs Preview

Jan 25, 2010 - 4:04 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Chicago (20-22) at San Antonio (25-17), 8:30 p.m. EDT

Concerned about his team's defense, the last thing San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich probably wants to see is a Chicago Bulls club that has turned around its once-struggling offense.

The Spurs look to avoid just their second three-game home losing streak in nine seasons when they host the Bulls on Monday.

San Antonio (25-17) won 15 of 19 from Dec. 9-Jan. 13 but has stumbled since, losing four of five including two straight at home. The Spurs gave up their second-most points of the season in a 116-109 defeat to Houston on Friday, allowing the Rockets to shoot 55.1 percent.

For the season, San Antonio is yielding 96.1 points per game - sixth in the NBA - but has allowed its last two opponents to top 100.

Tim Duncan scored a team-high 25 on Friday to surpass 20,000 career points, but the Spurs were outrebounded for the third time in five games and gave up 52 points in the paint.

"We're scoring more points than we've ever scored in our lives, but our defense is really sub-par and it's killing us," Popovich said.

San Antonio hasn't lost three in a row at the AT&T Center since dropping its first three home games of 2008-09 - the team's only three-game home skid in the last nine seasons.

Things don't get much easier for the Spurs during the rest of this six-game homestand. While the Bulls rank 27th in the NBA in scoring (95.2 points per game), Chicago (20-22) has turned up its offense recently, averaging 107.5 while winning six of eight. San Antonio closes the homestand against Atlanta, Memphis and Denver - all clubs with winning records.

"Chicago is a team that is playing really good," the Spurs' Manu Ginobili said. "It's a really good test. ... We are making too many mistakes and we can't afford another one."

The Bulls defeated Houston 104-97 on Saturday to improve to 2-2 on a seven-game road trip against teams from the Western Conference, and 6-15 on the road overall. It was the second straight impressive victory for Chicago, which defeated Phoenix the previous night.

"This is the trip to build momentum," Brad Miller, who scored 25 points against the Rockets, told the Bulls' official Web site. "Teams that are good on the road, you get that swagger. You've got to work harder on the road. We've got a long ways to go on this trip (but) it's a good confidence booster."

Miller took advantage of a last-minute start after Joakim Noah was scratched because of a left foot injury. Noah, who is averaging 11.3 points and 12.3 rebounds, hopes to return Monday. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 92-85 win over the Spurs on Oct. 29, helping the Bulls outrebound San Antonio 52-44.

The Bulls have lost nine of their last 10 road games against the Spurs, including three straight in which they've failed to reach 90 points.

Derrick Rose, who scored 20 points Saturday and is averaging 26.2 points over his last five contests, had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in his visit to the AT&T Center as a rookie last season.