Following a rocky start to their 2018-19 campaign, the San Antonio Spurs (16-15) find themselves back in the hunt in the Western Conference, now sitting in 11th place after winning five of their last six contests. The Spurs decimated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, 123-96, with three of their starting five posting 20+ points. The team was led offensively by Rudy Gay, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists, shooting 10-of-15 from the paint. LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan put up 20 points apiece, with the former grabbing 10 rebounds on his way to a double-double (his 12th of the year), and the latter dishing out seven assists and taking in six boards. Davis Bertans came off the pine to record 16 points, three triples, and make all five of his shot attempts from the foul line, as the Spurs take their spot in the mid-seed logjam in the West. San Antonio faces a brutal schedule to round out the month, with games scheduled against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, and a back-to-back series with the first place Denver Nuggets.

The Orlando Magic (14-15) will have had four days to prepare following a two-game home stand in Mexico City, one that finished 2-0 with Saturday's 96-89 win over the visiting Utah Jazz, thanks in large part to a dynamo performance on both ends of the floor by Nikola Vucevic. The eight-year veteran dropped 15 points and hauled in 19 rebounds for a double-double, going 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-3 from deep. Evan Fournier produced a team-high 24 points while recording seven rebounds and going 8-of-10 from the charity stripe, while sub Terrence Ross finished the game with 19 points, making 8-of-9 from field goal range. Orlando will need to maintain their luck heading back to the States this week, a tall order as they currently rank 23rd in the NBA in offense, averaging a collective 103.4 points per game. Orlando remains in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a half game behind the sixth place Detroit Pistons.