• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sizzling Spurs search for 15th straight home win vs. Nuggets

Jan 16, 2011 - 3:40 PM (Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs will shoot for their 15th consecutive win in the Alamo City Sunday night when they resume a four-game homestand by welcoming the Denver Nuggets to the AT&T Center.

The Spurs won the opener of their residency on Friday when DeJuan Blair scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, as San Antonio won its 14th consecutive home game with a 101-89 victory over Southwest Division-rival Dallas.

Tony Parker added 18 points and six assists for the Spurs, who improved to 21-2 as the host this season. Tim Duncan donated 16 points and 12 boards for San Antonio and Manu Ginobili chipped in with 11 points in the Spurs' fifth straight victory.

"We didn't want to take them lightly," Duncan said. "We know they're dealing with a bunch of injuries and everything else, but we wanted to come out and jump on them early, try to sustain and we did a pretty good job of that."

San Antonio, which will finish its residency with games against Toronto and New York, is in the midst of its longest home winning streak since a 16-game spurt from Dec. 11, 2004-Feb. 23, 2005. Meanwhile, its 40-game start (34-6) is the best in franchise history and the best in the NBA since Detroit's 35-5 mark back in the 2005-06 season.

The Nuggets continue to play well despite the trade rumors swirling around stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

The veterans could be on the move to the New Jersey Nets this week but that remains all speculation right now. Anthony, a three-time All-Star, has already turned down a pair of extension offers with the Nuggets with the intent of playing closer to his home of Brooklyn, NY.

With that as the backdrop Denver finished a four-game homestand at 3-1 thanks to a 127-99 rout or moribund Cleveland on Saturday. Nene ended with 22 points and seven rebounds in that one.

Arron Afflalo and Billups both scored 21 points for the Nuggets, who have won three in a row. Al Harrington added 16 points, J.R. Smith had 13 and Anthony 12.

"The last three games we've been doing a good job of sharing the ball," Afflalo said. "But honestly I think it's kind of stemmed from our defense."

Asked if Saturday's contest could be his last in Denver, Anthony was surprisingly candid.

"I'll be here," the superstar said of the team's next home game set for Jan. 19. "I don't know where all this Nets stuff came from, man. From what I'm hearing, nothing is imminent right now. That's just what I'm hearing."

"Going to a bigger market and all that is cool, but if I feel like I have a chance of winning a championship in Denver in the next five years, then I'll sign the extension," Anthony continued. "It really doesn't matter. I just want to win. At the end of the day, that's all I care about."

San Antonio has won four straight over Denver, including a pair of meetings this season. Anthony, however, missed the 109-103 Denver loss on Dec. 22 following the death of his sister and Billups missed the setback six days earlier with a wrist problem.

The Nuggets, however, are just 5-12 on the road this season versus 18-4 in the Rockies.