San Antonio @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 13, 2017 ) San Antonio 106, Houston 97

Kawhi Leonard's return did not get the San Antonio Spurs into the win column, but both he and the organization are looking at the bigger picture. The Houston Rockets, who host Leonard and the Spurs on Friday, can't seem to find their way out of the win column and will be trying to push their latest streak to 12 straight.

Leonard sat out the first 27 games while recovering from quad tendinopathy and scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting over 16 minutes in his debut on Tuesday. "I thought he was wonderful," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told reporters of Leonard. "He's trying to get some of the rust off and that kind of thing. Obviously, he's confident. He's a heck of a player, and it was really frustrating for him to just start getting loose and have to come off the court." The Rockets have yet to lose since Chris Paul returned from a knee injury and watched the future Hall of Famer take charge while posting 31 points and 11 assists in a 108-96 win over Charlotte on Wednesday. "It's all about building," Paul told reporters. "You can win however many games you want in a row. It means nothing if you're not playing the right way, but we're playing the right way and still trying to get better."

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, KENS (San Antonio), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE SPURS (19-9): Leonard came off the court before the end of the third quarter on Tuesday and never reentered the game as San Antonio was outscored 28-20 in the fourth and suffered a 95-89 loss at Dallas. "I'm just happy to be able to be out there, just to play the game and enjoy the things I missed -- missing shots, losing game, making mistakes -- just everything," Leonard told reporters. "I understand the situation that I'm in, and we're thinking about down the road." Leonard was an MVP candidate and first-team all-defensive performer while averaging a career-high 25.5 points and shooting 48.5 percent from the floor last season.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (22-4): Houston is not only scoring at will with Paul in the lineup but continues to improve on the defensive end and held the Hornets to 41.4 percent from the floor on Wednesday, including 4-of-21 from 3-point range. Paul, who has been an All-Defensive first-teamer in each of the last six years and seven times in his career, is averaging 2.1 steals in his 12 games with the team -- all wins. "I don't ever go into a game expecting to lose," Paul told reporters. "I think we're just playing with the right pace, the right tempo, the right energy. It's fun."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs C Pau Gasol went scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting in 22 minutes on Tuesday.

2. Rockets PF Ryan Anderson is 2-of-11 from 3-point range over the last three games.

3. The teams are meeting for the first time since the San Antonio knocked off Houston in six games in the Western Conference semifinals last spring.

PREDICTION: Rockets 113, Spurs 102