The Spurs play another game at AT&T Center on Thursday, facing the Utah Jazz, but they have to wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing. For the first time all season, they will go into the game with a two-game losing streak on their home floor, where they now are 10-5. They have given up 211 points in losses to the Rockets and Bucks, neither of which came into the game with records as good as Utah's.

The Jazz defeated the Spurs in their only previous meeting this season, winning 83-75 in Salt Lake City on Nov. 29. The 75 points remains a season low point total for the Spurs. The Jazz out-rebounded the Spurs 50-34, Jazz forward Carlos Boozer getting 16 of Utah's rebounds.

Manu Ginobili didn't play because of a low back contusion.

REPLAY
The Spurs gave up their largest point total of the season to the Milwaukee Bucks, who made 56.8 percent of their 88 shots. The fact they played so poorly on defense did not sit well with Coach Gregg Popovich, who said his team was playing its worst defense "in seven or eight years."

The fact the Spurs played without starting guard Manu Ginobili, NBA three-point percentage leader Brent Barry and reserve forward Matt Bonner, all out with the flu, made no difference to Popovich, who said the Bucks "scored enough points to win three games."

"We never stopped their offense," Popovich said, "and that's the name of the game."

The Spurs also gave up a relatively comfortable lead, another disturbing trend of late on their home court. They led by as many as 13 in the third quarter, the last time at 82-69. A 12-1 run got the Bucks back into the game by the end of the third period, and an 11-3 run midway through the fourth period got them a lead.

Copyright (C) 2006 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.