Jan 13, 2019Tony Parker has never played against San Antonio -- it's likely he doesn't even know where the visitors' locker room is at the AT&T Center -- but will get his first chance on Monday when the Charlotte Hornets visit the Alamo City to square off with the Spurs.Unlike the vitriol showed former Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard two weeks ago when he played his first game against San Antonio, expect the reception for Parker to be a warm one. He played in San Antonio for 17 years before signing with the Hornets in the offseason, and is one of the franchise's most-beloved players.Parker has had a productive campaign in Charlotte in a reserve guard role, averaging 9.4 points per game in 18.6 minutes per outing and twice scoring 24 points in a game this season.Monday's game is also a return to San Antonio for Hornets rookie coach James Borrego, who spent four seasons as an assistant with the Spurs.Charlotte will be looking to reverse a recent losing trend, with the most recent setback a 104-97 defeat at the hands of Sacramento on Saturday. The Hornets have lost four of the first five games on the season-long six-contest road trip that ends Monday in San Antonio.The loss came despite Kemba Walker's team-high 31 points for Charlotte. Walker now has 12 games with 30 or more points this season, three away from matching his career high set in 2016-17.The Hornets suffered 20 turnovers in the defeat, their third straight, one shy of matching the team's season-high for giveaways in a single game."We just have to take care of the basketball," Walker told NBA.com. "There were a lot of just bad turnovers. We're not usually like that, but we were tonight." Nicolas Batum added 13 points for Charlotte (19-23) while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (11 points) and Malik Monk (10 points) also scored in double figures. Parker sat out the game for rest, the third time he's been held out this season."We turned it over a little bit too much," Borrego said after the loss. "We were trying to execute, trying to make the right play - give them credit. They turned us over in this game. Give Sacramento credit. We could have been better." The Spurs head home after a 122-112 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday night in a rematch of the two teams' epic double-overtime game, won by San Antonio, 154-147, on Thursday.Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with a season-high 24 points, and DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 for San Antonio.The Spurs carried a 60-51 lead into halftime after leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, but Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 35-20 in the third period."The third quarter was tough," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told the San Antonio Express News. "We put ourselves behind the 8-ball there. Played a great first half on the road after an emotional game. I was really happy with their effort and mental approach to the game." LaMarcus Aldridge scored just 17 points in the loss after racking up in a career-high 56 on Thursday."They didn't let me play," Aldridge said of Oklahoma City's defense on Saturday. "They doubled me in every way. They came from the baseline, from the top. They made sure that the ball wasn't in my hands." Saturday's game was the fourth straight, and fifth of the past seven, for San Antonio without starting guard Rudy Gay, who is nursing a sprained left wrist. Gay, who is third on the team in scoring (13.6 per game) and second in rebounding (6.6), said there is no timetable for his return.The Spurs own a 41-15 all-time edge over Charlotte and have won 21 of the 28 games played in the Alamo City, including 11 in a row.--Field Level Media
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