THE STORY: San Antonio can win its 12th consecutive game when it completes a home-and-home series with Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday. More important for the Spurs (40-14) is increasing their edge over Oklahoma City (41-15) atop the West. The Spurs took advantage of a short-handed Utah squad for a 114-104 victory Sunday in San Antonio. Utah lost shooting guard C.J. Miles (strained calf) and Earl Watson (sore right knee) in the second quarter.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Spurs), ROOT Sports (Jazz)
ABOUT THE SPURS (40-14): San Antonio managed to handle Utah despite not even playing starting center DeJuan Blair and backup guard Stephen Jackson. Manu Ginobili scored 23 points and had five rebounds in his best game since coming back from a broken hand in March. Ginobili was 14 of 15 from the line but said after the game he wasnâ??t sure he would make the trip to Utah. The Spurs have beaten Utah six straight times.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (29-28): Utah came out of Sundayâ??s game with not only a loss but perhaps a depleted backcourt. Miles had his left foot in a protective boot after the game. Watson was on crutches. â??We just have to pick it up. â? Weâ??re just going to have to go with what we have,â? Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. â??Our guys have been tremendous responding all year and we expect that to continue.â? Utah is 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Denver.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Spurs last won 12 in a row from Nov. 1-24, 2010.
2. Utah has allowed 30-plus points in the first quarter in five of six games.
3. After not playing the first half, Utahâ??s DeMarre Carroll scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.
PREDICTION: Spurs 114, Jazz 101
