Tim Duncan is asking for help for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and says he will match donations up to the first $1 million.

Duncan writes on The Players’ Tribune that he is donating $250,000 immediately to storm relief efforts after there was extensive damage from Hurricane Irma, and noting that Hurricane Jose has developed behind.

The retired San Antonio Spurs star was born and grew up on the U.S. Virgin Islands, and writes that many of his old friends are suffering. He says that ”no one knows what the place will look like when the rain stops.”

Duncan was raised in St. Croix, which was crippled by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 when he was 13.

Duncan also says he will charter a plane to ship supplies from San Antonio to St. Croix when the weather allows, and put together a team to help manage the relief efforts.

—

4:50 p.m.

Hurricane Irma has forced next week’s series between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays to be moved to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

The Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday series was set to be played in St. Petersburg, Florida. But concerns over where Irma will hit, and what it will do to the Tampa Bay area, prompted officials to decide that moving the series was best.

Playing at other neutral sites, like the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards and the Chicago White Sox’ Guaranteed Rate Field, was considered. But hotel availability was tough in both series, so the series heads to New York – where only the Rays will need lodging.

The Rays played host to a series between Houston and Texas last month, after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and forced changes there.

—

2:45 p.m.

NASCAR tracks like Bristol, Atlanta, Charlotte and Talladega are opening their doors to Hurricane Irma evacuees.

With unknown amounts of people heading north from Florida and other states in an effort to escape Irma’s path – and hotels booked solid in many places – the tracks are opening their campgrounds.

Atlanta Motor Speedway opened its camping facilities Thursday for both RV and tent campers, all of whom would have access to hot showers and restroom facilities. Bristol said its campground was opening Friday, and Charlotte’s opened Friday morning as well.

”We look forward to show them the hospitality for which we’re known,” Charlotte executive vice president Greg Walter said.

Talladega opened its gates to evacuees Thursday. Track chairman Grant Lynch says ”our track is committed to helping our friends in Florida and the surrounding states during this time of need.”

—

2:20 p.m.

Help with the aftermath from what was once the most powerful recorded storm in the open Atlantic is already arriving – from the other side of the Atlantic.

French soccer officials have pledged about $600,000 – 500,000 euros – to help search and rescue teams as well as for efforts to rebuild St. Martin and St. Barts after Hurricane Irma hit both islands.

The French football federation, the players’ association, the clubs’ union and the French league made the announcement on Friday.

At least 11 people have been confirmed dead on St. Martin and St. Barts because of Irma, part of the 21 deaths in the Caribbean so far being blamed on the massive storm.

—

2 p.m.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will remain in Houston following their season-opener against the Texans because of Hurricane Irma.

The team says it decided to stay at least an extra day ”in consideration for the safety of our players, coaches and staff.” There had been concern that the team would return to Jacksonville after the game Sunday be stranded because local bridges might be closed. Irma is expected to reach the Jacksonville area early Monday.

The Jags say they will reevaluate travel options Monday morning.

Houston is still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Harvey, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Estimates suggest that the amount of garbage needing to be cleaned up in Houston alone is 8 million cubic yards – enough to fill the Texans’ stadium two times over.

—

1:15 p.m.

Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz says it ”will just about take a miracle” for college football games to be played in Florida next weekend. If he’s right that means the Hurricanes’ annual matchup with Florida State might get rescheduled.

Diaz posted a statement to Twitter on Friday, saying he and his family drove 13 hours to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The Hurricanes have been criticized for their decision to cancel Saturday’s game at Arkansas State. Irma-related concerns also prompted Florida State, Florida and Central Florida to call off home games, and South Florida isn’t going to play at Connecticut.

In response to criticism, Diaz wrote, ”The entire state right now is in the cross hairs of the strongest storm ever in the Atlantic. Ever. And we are still talking about football with all these lives in the balance?”

If Miami and FSU can’t play in Tallahassee on Sept. 16, both teams are off on Oct. 7.

—

1 p.m.

A person familiar with the situation says the Miami Dolphins will practice next week in California in advance of their Sept. 17 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, a decision made in response to the expected wrath of Hurricane Irma.

The team was finalizing its plans Friday, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor the league had publicly revealed the decision.

The Dolphins were to open their season Sunday at home against Tampa Bay, but that game was moved to Week 11 because Florida is expected to be squarely in Irma’s path. The powerful hurricane is expected to continue affecting the state throughout the early part of next week, and possibly longer.

– AP Sports Writer Steven Wine.

—

HURRICANE NEWSLETTER – Get the best of the AP’s all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb

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Denver Nuggets vs San Antonio Spurs
When: 8:30 PM  ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
PREDICTION: Spurs 120, Nuggets 110

Oddsmakers currently have the SAN ANTONIO listed as -11.5 point favorites versus the DENVER, while the game’s total is sitting at 221.

The San Antonio Spurs consider 32 wins in 41 games a good start to a season they hope will be memorable, in essence putting the rest of the NBA on alert to just how good they can be if they can put all their considerably talented pieces together at the same time.

The next team to try to derail the Spurs will be the Denver Nuggets, who head to the Alamo City on Thursday for a matchup at the AT&T Center.

At the halfway mark of its season, the Spurs (32-9) own the second-best record in the league and the Western Conference but say they have room for improvement.

“No team is where they want to be,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after a 122-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. “Maybe Golden State is, but the rest of us are trying to get there.”

Despite their success, the Spurs are struggling to play complete games, the most recent exhibit coming against Minnesota, when they didn’t dominate until the end of the third quarter. Just don’t call San Antonio’s efforts sluggish, as one reporter did Tuesday night.

“I don’t think we were sluggish — that’s not the right word,” Popovich said. “Nobody is sluggish — it’s an NBA game, and everybody is playing for their life. There might be mental mistakes and there might be lack of physicality or missed shots and turnovers, but sluggish doesn’t fit.”

Kawhi Leonard, who had 34 points in the win Tuesday, leads the Spurs in scoring at 24.8 per contest. He produced 30-plus points in each of the past four games, equaling the longest streak by any San Antonio player since Mike Mitchell had six straight in 1986.

San Antonio scored 100-plus points in each of its past 18 games, the longest streak by a Spurs team since going 22 straight in 1995.

That is what awaits Denver as it travels to San Antonio with a three-game win streak in its pocket, with the latest victory a 127-121 triumph against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at Staples Center.

Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the win. Will Barton added 26 points and eight assists, Kenneth Faried contributed 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Emmanuel Mudiay each hit for 14 points for the Nuggets, who beat the Lakers in Los Angeles for the seventh consecutive time.

Denver (17-23) nearly blew a huge third-quarter lead by getting outscored 37-26 in the final period.

“We blew the lead, but we stayed together,” Jokic said. “We had really good defensive stops in the last minute. The offense was really good for us. We have (plenty of) people playing well for us.”

The Nuggets are averaging 130.7 points and 33 assists per game during their winning streak. Denver’s starters accounted for all but 24 of the team’s points in the victory Tuesday.

“Early in the season, we probably lose this game, to be honest,” Chandler said. “Everybody held their composure; everybody made big plays.”

The Nuggets and Spurs played on Jan. 5 in Denver, with San Antonio rolling to a 127-99 win in which LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 28 points while the Nuggets got 19 points and 11 rebounds from Jokic. San Antonio had a season-low seven turnovers in the win and shot a season-best 56.7 percent (51 of 90) from the floor and 50 percent (12 of 24) from 3-point range. Denver shot just 28 percent (7 of 25) from beyond the arc.

The Spurs won the past seven games played between the teams in San Antonio.

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Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
PREDICTION: Spurs 107, Lakers 94

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs will look to make amends for a rare poor defensive game and are expected to be back at full strength when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Alamo City on Thursday.

The Spurs are coming off a 109-007 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday that snapped a nine-game home winning streak. The defeat was uncharacteristic in that San Antonio did not make the defensive stops in the endgame that it is noted for.

Despite the subpar work on the defensive end, San Antonio (30-8) had a final shot to win. Reserve guard Maun Ginobili’s 3-pointer from the corner with one second to play caromed off the side of the backboard and out of bounds as the horn sounded.

“Our problem on (Tuesday) started with our individual defense,” Spurs center Pau Gasol said. “(The Bucks) ran the same two plays about 80 percent of the time, and they scored effectively.

“We’re supposed to be a pretty good defensive team, and that doesn’t come from just one player, and not two players, but the entire team working together and being in sync on the floor. A guy can score one time, maybe twice, on a certain play, but that’s it. We just let it keep rolling and paid the price.”

The Spurs placed six players in double-figure scoring, led by the 30-point performance by forward Kawhi Leonard. It was Leonard’s ninth game of 30 or more points this season. San Antonio played against Milwaukee without star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who was out due to a stomach illness.

“We have to play better leading up to the end of the game so it doesn’t come down to if you make or miss a final shot,” Spurs reserve forward David Lee said. “At the end of the game, they hit a couple of tough shots that were contested, and we missed a few that were wide open. We had a couple of stretches when we didn’t play our best defense.”

The Lakers (15-27) head to San Antonio off a disheartening 108-87 home loss Tuesday to the Portland Trail Blazers in which Los Angeles scored just 30 points in the second half. The defeat snapped a modest two-game winning streak for the Lakers, who have won four times in their past 10 games.

Portland outscored the Lakers 23-12 in the third quarter while outshooting them 43.5 percent to 21.7 percent in the period. No Los Angeles player scored more than four points in the quarter as the starters combined for only six points.

“We just went flat,” Los Angles guard Nick Young said. “The energy wasn’t there in the second half. It got tough for us. It wasn’t anything they were doing. We just didn’t have the energy.”

Lakers coach Luke Walton was displeased with how his players focused on the offensive end.

Only three Los Angeles players scored in double figures against Portland. Luol Deng finished with a team-high 14 points, 13 of which came in the first half, when the Lakers forged a 57-55 lead.

“We aren’t winning games when one guy scores 40,” Walton said. “We had nights like that, too, and we lose. I thought we played a good first half, so what happened after that was very unexpected. We’ve made some great progress the past few weeks, so we can’t let the way we played (Tuesday) affect us. We just have to move on.”

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. San Antonio beat the Lakers 116-107 at Staples Center on Nov. 18 in the first matchup. Los Angeles has lost eight straight games to San Antonio and hasn’t won the season series against the Spurs since 2008-09.

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It didn’t take him long to mention his disdain for the 3-point shot, which is no secret.

So imagine this irony: His Spurs, this season, are shooting the 3 as well as just about any team in league history.

Overlooked, perhaps, in their 30-7 start this season is this. The Spurs are connecting on 41.3 percent of their 3s – on pace to be the third-best success rate since the shot was added to the NBA game nearly four decades ago. Only the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets (42.8 percent) and last season’s Golden State Warriors (41.6) shot it better than San Antonio has to this point.

”I hate it,” Popovich said that day in Berlin. ”It’s not real basketball.”

Ah, but it can be part of smart basketball, as the Spurs keep showing.

Houston has missed more 3s this season than the Spurs have taken – by a lot, too. Entering Sunday, only Chicago was averaging fewer 3-point attempts per game than San Antonio.

But the Spurs take good ones.

They’re making 45 percent of their corner 3s, 40 percent of ones taken from above the break. And the Spurs are on pace to be the first team in NBA history to shoot better than .400 from 3-point range and .800 from the foul line.

—

CONFUSING HAWKS

Kyle Korver has now been traded to the Cavaliers and Paul Millsap will likely be next to leave Atlanta. So if (or when) the Millsap deal happens, the entire starting lineup from the Hawks team that won 60 games just two seasons ago will be gone.

And amid all this change and rumor, the Hawks keep winning.

Atlanta plays at Brooklyn on Tuesday night. Should the Hawks win there, it would be seven straight victories for Atlanta – the longest streak by any team in the Eastern Conference so far this season.

It also would make the Hawks the first team this season to have both a seven-game winning streak and a seven-game losing streak. The Clippers came close, winning seven in a row once and later losing six straight.

—

THE WEEK AHEAD

A look at some of the games to watch this week:

– Oklahoma City at Chicago, Monday. Jimmy Butler’s last six games for the Bulls – 34.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 72 for 83 from the foul line.

– Boston at Toronto, Tuesday. Celtics have scored 100 or more in 11 straight games, one away from matching their longest such streak under Brad Stevens.

– Indiana vs. Denver in London, Thursday. The NBA hits London for the seventh time. A 3 p.m. weekday start for fans in Indiana, 1 p.m. for those in Denver.

– Memphis at Houston, Friday. Hard to find two coaches who have done better so far than the Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni and the Grizzlies’ David Fizdale.

– Minnesota at Dallas, Sunday. The Mavs moved up the start, so this game should end about the same time the Cowboys-Packers playoff game kicks off.

—

STAT LINE OF THE WEEK

Jimmy Butler, Chicago. As if the 52 points, 12 rebounds and 21-for-22 show at the foul line wasn’t enough last Monday against Charlotte, gander at these: He had 17 points in a fourth-quarter span of 3 minutes, 53 seconds, and his 21 made free throws were more than the Hawks, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat and Magic all totaled in their first two games against the Hornets this season.

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Charlotte Hornets vs. San Antonio Spurs
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 7, 2017
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
PREDICTION: Spurs 109, Hornets 92

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 11-point favorites versus the Hornets, while the game’s total is sitting at 209.

How the Charlotte Hornets cope with the balanced offensive attack of the San Antonio Spurs will be a key aspect of the game play when the two teams meet on Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Spurs (29-7) return home after a dominating 129-91 win on Thursday over Denver in which LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio with 28 points. Kawhi Leonard added 24 points and Tony Parker, who has been hot of late, added 21 points and nine assists for the Spurs.

The victory over Denver improved the Spurs’ record on the road to 17-3; San Antonio is the only team in the NBA that’s been better on the road than at home (12-4) this season. The Spurs play five of their next six games at home.

Aldridge has been on a tear offensively, claiming San Antonio’s high-scorer honors in four of the Spurs’ past six games.

“He’s in a great rhythm right now and needs to stay like that,” Parker said of Aldridge. “He’s a great shooter, a great scorer. When he plays like that, he forces a double team and makes everybody’s job easier.”

San Antonio has also been buoyed by the continued solid play of center Pau Gasol, who was the Spurs’ main offseason free agent acquisition. Gasol is first on the team in rebounding (7.9), first among San Antonio’s regular starters in field-goal percentage (50.9 percent) and third in scoring (12.3 -points per game).

Gasol is one of only four players in NBA history and the sole active player to reach 19,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career.

“He’s a smart player,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Every coach likes to add smart players to the mix.”

Charlotte (20-17) heads to the Alamo City for the only time in the regular season on the heels of a 115-114 loss at Detroit on Thursday.

The Hornets will be without shooting guard Nicolas Batum, who suffered a hyperextended right knee during the contest against the Pistons.

The team confirmed the injury diagnosis during an MRI exam on Friday. There was no structural damage found.

Meanwhile, the Hornets roared back in the fourth quarter from a 19-point deficit and led by one in the closing seconds before two free throws by the Pistons’ Reggie Jackson with 1.9 seconds to play dropped Charlotte to its third loss in its past four games.

“The bottom line is that if we want to be the team that I think we can be, you got to win tonight,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford. We just aren’t where, to me, where we need to be. We had very little defensive readiness to start and we got to get better bench play.”

Kemba Walker poured in 20 of his team-high 32 points in the fourth quarter in which the Hornets scored a season-high 44 points, but still came up short. Marvin Williams added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Hornets in the loss while Spencer Hawes hit for 18 points.

“It’s frustrating,” Hawes said after the loss. “We battled, and we don’t have to question whether this team is going to do that or not.

“When you dig a hole on the road like we did (Thursday), especially on the second night of a back-to-back, you put so much into just getting yourself back into the game and just giving yourself a chance,” Hawes continued. “That being said, it came down to a one-possession game at the end.”

San Antonio beat the Hornets 119-114 when the two teams met on Nov. 23 at Spectrum Center. The Spurs own a nine-game home win-streak against Charlotte dating back to Nov. 15, 2006 and have won 38 of the 53 games the teams have played all-time.

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San Antonio Spurs vs. Chicago Bulls
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSN Chicago
PREDICTION: Spurs 106, Bulls 101

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 4½-point favorites versus the Bulls, while the game’s total is sitting at 201.

The San Antonio Spurs can match an NBA record for consecutive road wins to start a season if they defeat the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at the United Center.

The Spurs are 13-0 and could tie the Golden State Warriors, who set the mark by going undefeated in their first 14 road games last season.

“It’s hard to win an NBA game, especially on the road,” reserve guard Patty Mills told Fox Sports Southwest after scoring 15 points in the Spurs’ 105-91 win Tuesday at the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Maybe that extra focus, knowing that we’re in another team’s building and (they’re) wanting to come out trying to beat us, there’s that little bit of extra focus or energy or effort, whatever it may be. But we can’t pinpoint (why) at the moment, and nor should we try to figure it out. Long season, I guess.”

It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Spurs center Pau Gasol, who played the past two seasons with the Bulls and signed with San Antonio as a free agent in the offseason.

Gasol, 36, has only missed one game for the Spurs (18-4). He’s averaging 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Gasol could give the post-challenged Bulls matchup problems, but Chicago will also need to dedicate a significant amount of focus on defending forward Kawhi Leonard.

San Antonio’s leading scorer (24.5 points per game) is coming off a 31-point performance against the Timberwolves, despite a slow start in that game. Leonard, 25, is averaging nearly four more minutes per game than his career average of 30.1 and scoring about 10 more points per game than his 14.9 career average.

“By this point in his career, he’s a confident player,” Spurs coach Gregg Poppovich told Fox Sports Southwest. “He knows he’s got a green light. We call his number now and then, but he does a lot of this stuff on his own, and he’s getting pretty good at pick-and-roll. So, he just advances his game every year a little bit in some fashion. Special young man.”

The Bulls (11-10) are coming off a 102-91 loss Tuesday at the Detroit Pistons, when they were outplayed in the fourth quarter after overcoming a 17-point deficit in the first half. Chicago has lost three straight games, four of its past five and is just 3-6 since winning four straight Nov. 10-17.

The Bulls have allowed 100-plus points in seven of those nine games.

“The problem is not on the offensive end,” guard Jimmy Butler told CSN Chicago. “(The Pistons) got whatever they wanted. We’re not defending the way we’re capable. We’re messing up assignments, not boxing out, not playing to guys’ weaknesses. We gotta fix it. All of these count early on. We have to turn this around.”

Butler is doing his part. The Bulls’ leading scorer scored 32 against the Pistons and is averaging 26 points a game. Over the past 10 games, Butler is averaging 27.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 10.7 free-throw attempts.

He’s just not getting enough consistent help from Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo or others in the Bulls’ playing rotation. Rondo returned to the lineup against the Pistons after serving a one-game suspension for a reported altercation with an assistant coach.

Chicago also made a series of roster moves Wednesday involving the Windy City Bulls of the D-League. They recalled forward Doug McDermott from their D-League affiliate. They also recalled guard R.J. Hunter and rookie forward Pau Zipser after sending both to the D-League about two hours earlier.

The Spurs might not have veteran guard Tony Parker, who is questionable after bruising his knee in San Antonio’s 97-96 win Monday at the Milwaukee Bucks.

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Elsewhere, Detroit beat Boston in a meeting of Central Division rivals who are now in a virtual tie after opposing form streaks, while Utah made it seven wins in eight games by defeating Phoenix.

San Antonio’s Leonard hit 11 of 15 shots after not scoring at all in the first quarter and Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench for the Spurs, who played without Tony Parker due to a bruised knee.

San Antonio overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent and now have the second longest road winning streak to start a season, one behind Golden State, which began with 14 in a row last season.

Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Timberwolves.

Detroit’s Tobias Harris headed an even team effort with 22 points as the Pistons beat Chicago 102-91.

Andre Drummond added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the fourth time in five games while the Bulls have lost three straight.

Jimmy Butler scored 32 points for Chicago, which was playing a fourth game in five nights and looked weary in the fourth quarter.

Utah dominated early but ultimately just hung on to beat Phoenix 112-105, led by 28 points from Gordon Hayward.

Hayward had 11 third-quarter points to reach 20-plus points for the ninth consecutive game; the first Jazz player to do that in nine seasons.

Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 22 points and had 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who sprinted out to a 25-10 lead and were up 65-45 at half time before the Suns worked their way back into the contest.

Devin Booker scored 21 points for Phoenix.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony matched a season high with 35 points as the Knicks won 114-103 at injury-ravaged Miami for a fourth straight victory.

Memphis scored the last seven points of the game to escape with a 96-91 win against Philadelphia, which has lost eight straight.

Orlando overcame 52 points from Washington’s John Wall to beat the Wizards 124-116.

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San Antonio Spurs vs Milwaukee Bucks
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PREDICTION: Spurs 110, Bucks 102

“It’s taking us a while to get into the rhythm, into the aggressiveness that we need to get leads,” San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili told reporters. “Yeah, we’re not playing well, but the good thing is that meanwhile we’re getting wins and we’re maintaining a good record.” The Bucks will test that road streak and try to keep their own run of strong play going after winning four in a row – a surge that included a 17-point victory over Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland. Milwaukee finished off a sweep of a home-and-home set with struggling Brooklyn on Saturday with a 112-103 triumph and is averaging 111.3 points during the streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker lead the Bucks, averaging 41 points between them.

ABOUT THE SPURS (16-4): Leonard is again putting up solid numbers while averaging 24.3 points, six rebounds and three assists, but is shooting just 45.3 percent from the field – well below his career average (49.5). LaMarcus Aldridge is also contributing 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and newcomer Pau Gasol posted 19 points and 10 rebounds against Washington for his second double-double since joining the Spurs this season. Point guard Tony Parker (9.7 points, 4.3 assists) missed the last game with a bruised left quad and is questionable.

ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-8): Antetokounmpo filled the scoresheet with 16 points, 10 boards, six assists and five blocks in Saturday victory – continuing to round out his all-around game. “It just shows that he doesn’t need to score 20 points to have an impact on the game,” Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told reporters of Antetokounmpo, who is scoring 22.4 per game. Parker averages 18.6 points as the only other player in double figures, but center John Henson is raising his level of play in the last four games, scoring 20 twice during that span.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Spurs have won the last eight meetings and beat the Bucks by 25 both games in 2015-16.

2. Milwaukee G Matthew Dellavedova scored a season-high 18 points while dishing out six assists in Saturday’s victory.

3. San Antonio leads the league in free-throw percentage (82.0) and the Bucks are limiting opponents to an NBA-best 42.7 percent from the field entering Sunday.

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San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks
When: 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Two old rivals going in opposite directions meet for the second time in 10 days Wednesday night in Dallas.

The San Antonio Spurs (14-4) are off to the second-best start in team history and are undefeated (10-0) on the road. San Antonio had a nine-game winning streak snapped in a 95-83 loss to Orlando at home Tuesday night.

The Dallas Mavericks (3-13) are off to the worst start in Mark Cuban’s ownership tenure. Dallas recently ended an eight-game slide, the longest since Cuban bought the club in 2000.

The Mavericks will be without Dirk Nowitzki, who’s out for at least the next two games recovering from a right Achilles tendon injury. Nowitzki already missed 11 games this season.

“He’s making gradual progress, but not enough to play him right now,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.

The Mavericks picked up a win Sunday, beating New Orleans 91-81 and winning for only the second time at American Airlines Center this season. The victory was much needed.

“It helps a lot,” Carlisle said. “We have been close in a lot of games. The Cleveland game (128-90 loss on Friday) was a bad one, but we have been doing a lot of good things and have just been a little shorthanded.”

The win over the Pelicans began a stretch of eight of out 10 games at home.

“It doesn’t matter in this league,” Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews said. “You have to give everything you have and be prepared every single night no matter where you are. We’ve dropped home games and we’ve dropped road games, but it does feel good to get a win in front of these fans.”

Harrison Barnes, averaging a career-high 20.8 points, picked up the scoring load with Nowitzki’s continued absences. Barnes scored at least 20 points nine times in 16 games after doing so on only six occasions last season with Golden State.

The Spurs are the fifth team in NBA history to start at least 10-0 on the road, which is also a franchise-best winning streak away from home. The Warriors own the best road start, opening 14-0 last season.

San Antonio is 4-4 at home after losing just twice at the AT&T Center a season ago.

“It’s hard to explain even for us, as players who are on the floor competing,” Spurs center Pau Gasol said. “It’s not like we’re trying to lose games at home and then go on the road and get all of them. We understand the importance of each and every game, but it’s going to have to translate into better play at home, especially.”

The Spurs had a season-high 19 turnovers and a season low in points against the Magic.

“Energy could have been a little better at the beginning,” Gasol said. “I think we fought back and had pretty good intensity, but they were just disrupting our offense.”

Dallas visited San Antonio on Nov. 21, though the contest hardly resembled what fans have grown accustomed to when the Spurs and Mavericks hook up. Even with their current rosters, San Antonio’s 96-91 victory was a mashup of player combinations and rotations.

The Spurs rested Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge, while Dallas was without Nowitzki and Deron Williams. Kawhi Leonard scored 24 to lead San Antonio.

The Spurs own the series in recent years against their longtime in-state rivals. San Antonio won six straight and 20 of the last 24 regular-season meetings with the Mavericks.

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San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Spurs 107, Kings 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 6.5-point favorites versus the Kings, while the game’s total is 194.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The San Antonio Spurs are only now getting used to having their starting five perfectly healthy. Not that it’s kept them from navigating the road unblemished during the season’s first three weeks.

The Spurs carry a 5-0 road mark into Wednesday’s contest at Sacramento, a place where they’ve already won once this season. Danny Green, a 10.6.-point-per-game scorer in 16 games against Sacramento, missed San Antonio’s first nine contests, including its 102-94 victory here on Oct. 27.

That marked one of nine games the Spurs (8-3) endured without their forecasted starting five. All three losses came without 19-year veteran Tony Parker, who sat with a knee injury.

Parker, Green, Kawhi Leonard (25.5 points per game), LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol did not take the floor together until Nov. 12 in Houston. On Wednesday, they’ll be starting together for the third straight game — the Spurs have won three straight since Parker returned.

“Tony is Tony,” teammate Manu Ginobili told the San Antonio Express-News after the Spurs’ 94-90 home win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday. “He’s been the point guard of this team for 16 years. It’s not something where he can take 10 days off and we’re not going to feel it.”

The Spurs next get to see how strong their road magic is over the next three weeks. San Antonio kicks off a stretch in which it will play nine of 12 games away from AT&T Center. Five of the next six are on the road.

San Antonio Stats:
Team record: 8-3 SU,6-4-1 ATS
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
San Antonio is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 5 games
San Antonio is 4-0-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

“It’s always tough to play on the road,” Leonard told reporters. “We’ve just got to focus in, as always.”

The Heat weren’t good for the Spurs’ renewed health. Green took a knee in the groin and missed the second half. Center Dewayne Dedmon, averaging 4.9 rebounds in 13 minutes per game off the bench, sprained his left knee in the third quarter after colliding with Justise Winslow.

Green is questionable to play against the Kings, but Dedmon is out. Dedmon put up a season-best 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while helping defend Kings center DeMarcus Cousins in San Antonio’s earlier victory.

Cousins and his teammates haven’t played since Saturday, and coach Dave Joerger used the four-day break to run through an offense that his players have been working to learn since camp. The break is their longest this season, not counting the All-Star break.

Sacramento nearly climbed all the way out of a hole it created by losing five of its first seven, but the Kings blew a 19-point lead in a home loss to the Lakers, then fell in overtime at Portland the next night. Now, the Kings (4-7) will fall a season-worst four below .500 if they lose to the Spurs, a team that has beaten them seven consecutive times.

Cousins is scoring 26.6 points per game, the ninth-best mark in the NBA, but the Kings have won only when they’ve defended. Three of their four wins have come when they’ve held an opponent under 100 points, and opponents were shooting 45 percent and turning over the ball an average of 11.3 times.

But Sacramento turns over the ball a lot, too. The Kings committed 15 against Portland, leading to 25 points, and have averaged 13 turnovers in their seven losses.

Sacramento Stats:
Team record: 4-7 SU,5-5-1 ATS
Sacramento is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Sacramento’s last 13 games
Sacramento is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games at home

“I think some of them are just careless,” Joerger told the Sacramento Bee. “The long passes, I love the fact that guys are out running, and we’re looking for our teammates. Those are good. But we’re not completing them. Nothing bad happens if you don’t throw that pass. Something bad can happen if it doesn’t get there.”

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