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Suns-Spurs Preview

Nov 23, 2015 - 5:51 AM The Phoenix Suns haven't had a whole lot of success in the city where they'll make the final stop on their three-game road trip.

It's not an uncommon storyline for teams visiting San Antonio.

The Spurs will try to extend the NBA's second-longest active home winning streak Monday night with another victory at the AT&T Center over the Suns.

San Antonio (10-3) has opened the season with six home victories, extending its regular-season streak to 15 games - short of only Golden State's 26. But the Spurs aren't nearly satisfied with how they're winning of late, and they might be without one of their top players against the Suns.

LaMarcus Aldridge was a late scratch from a 92-82 win over Memphis on Saturday with a sprained left ankle. Aldridge, averaging 15.3 points and 9.9 rebounds, is questionable for Monday.

San Antonio's 18 turnovers irked coach Gregg Popovich, but the Spurs still managed to rebound from a lethargic 104-90 defeat at New Orleans on Friday that ended their six-game winning spurt.

When asked if the turnovers are a sign the team is still growing accustomed to a revamped roster, Popovich responded, "No, it was a sign of a team playing poorly."

Six for six at home looks good on paper, but only one of San Antonio's half-dozen opponents at the AT&T Center holds a record better than .500 - Charlotte at 7-6. The list includes 0-14 Philadelphia and 3-11 Brooklyn.

''We are building,'' Manu Ginobili said. ''We really don't care about the record right now. Of course it's good to be 10-3, but we didn't have a super tough schedule, but it's going to get tougher soon.''

The Spurs, who have won 15 of 19 in this series, are 27-2 at the AT&T Center in the regular season since Jan. 9. The first win of that stretch came against Phoenix (7-6), which has lost 11 of 12 in San Antonio.

Phoenix won the first game of this trip by beating Denver 114-107 on Friday behind Brandon Knight's career-high 38 points, and making 17 of 36 3s in New Orleans on Sunday would have seemed to put it in good position again. But the Suns shot just 18 of 54 from inside the arc - 11 of 33 in the paint - in a 122-116 loss.

''We have to shoot better than that in the paint if we want to win,'' coach Jeff Hornacek said. ''We didn't have enough stops at the end of the game and they made more plays.''

The Suns didn't make nearly enough plays early in games against the Spurs in dropping three of four last season, getting outscored 97-60 in the first quarter. Phoenix shot 28.6 percent in the first 12 minutes of last season's series, missing on all 12 3-point attempts.

The Suns have trailed by a combined 31 points after the first quarter in their last three games.

Fast starts have been routine for San Antonio at home. The Spurs have led by at least four after every first quarter at the AT&T Center this season, and they've had the lead after one in 18 of their last 19 regular-season home games.