San Antonio @ Sacramento preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 23, 2017 ) San Antonio 108, Sacramento 99

The San Antonio Spurs are 1-4 when playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road this season but will have some history on their side when they play their second contest in as many nights at Sacramento on Monday. The Spurs have claimed 11 straight meetings with the Kings and six in a row at Sacramento dating from a loss there November 15, 2014.

San Antonio enters this one on a down note, however, having lost by a point in Portland on Sunday without star forward Kawhi Leonard, who was out with what coach Gregg Popovich called a "partial tear" in his left shoulder. The Kings have a chance to finish 3-3 on their six-game homestand before they go on the road for nine of 11. They outlasted Denver 106-98 on Saturday behind 18 points and seven assists from rookie De'Aaron Fox and a team season high of 16 steals, including a career-best seven by Willie Cauley-Stein. "Just being ready and active, being in the right spots on defense," Cauley-Stein told reporters after his team won the turnover battle 26-9. "That'll happen. It's big. It feels good."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (San Antonio), NBCS California (Sacramento)

ABOUT THE SPURS (27-14): According to reports, the organization said they feel that Leonard's injury is not too serious and Popovich was unsure as to whether the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year would be able to play on the current road trip. Tony Parker was rested Sunday and is expected to be back in the lineup Monday, while Danny Green has missed three straight games because of a groin injury. Veterans LaMarcus Aldridge (30 points, 14 rebounds) and Manu Ginobili (26 points, 6-of-9 from 3-point range) carried the load in Portland as San Antonio fell to 9-12 on the road.

ABOUT THE KINGS (13-25): The 20-year-old Fox is averaging 17.5 points in two games since returning from a quadriceps injury and 40-year-old Vince Carter - who scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter against Denver - is seeing his youthful teammates make strides. "We have a lot of talent around here, it's just patience," Carter told reporters. "They have to learn how to play this game and have to go through all the different scenarios that you could possibly face in an NBA game, and you won't see that until the second part of the season." Buddy Hield matched his age with 24 points in a 108-99 loss to the Spurs on Dec. 23 while Cauley-Stein, also 24, had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kings C Zach Randolph (oral surgery) sat out Saturday and is day-to-day, and G George Hill was away from the team to be with his wife, who was expected to give birth over the weekend.

2. Ginobili has scored at least 20 points in consecutive games for the first time since March 2014.

3. Carter also had a season-high eight rebounds in the win over Denver.

PREDICTION: Kings 104, Spurs 103