Tip-off: Friday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Line: San Antonio -5, Total: 210

The Suns look to win their fifth straight game when they visit the Spurs on Friday.

Phoenix went into Minnesota on Wednesday and beat the Timberwolves 113-111 as an 8-point road favorite. The team has now won four straight games SU and has covered in three of them. The Suns are also 10-2 (SU and ATS) in their past 12 games. San Antonio, meanwhile, lost 105-104 as an 8-point home favorite against the Pistons. The Spurs had won two straight games SU before the loss and they’ve now failed to cover in three of the past four contests. These teams met earlier this season on Oct. 31, 2014, when Phoenix won 94-89 in a pick ’em game at home. San Antonio is 3-2 SU (2-3 ATS) in its past five meetings in the series, and is 3-1 SU (1-2-1 ATS) when hosting over the past three seasons. In the past two seasons, Phoenix is 42-20 ATS in road games, and is 20-9 ATS in road games after scoring 105+ points in that timeframe. San Antonio is, however, 18-6 ATS off a home loss over the past three seasons and 19-9 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite in that span as well. Star SF Kawhi Leonard (hand) remains out for the Spurs, while C Aron Baynes (neck) is questionable and SG Kyle Anderson (ankle) is probable.

Can the Spurs put an end to the Suns' winning ways? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (91-75-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 70% ATS (16-7) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 77% ATS (10-3) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (29-24) for the season. StatFox Brian is 62% ATS (18-11) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 55% ATS (28-23) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 54% ATS (15-13) in NBA Best Bets since Nov. 29, and 53% ATS (27-24) this season.

The Suns have won four straight games and PF Markief Morris (15.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG) has really stepped up for the team. Over the past five games, he is averaging 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 1.6 SPG. Morris does have a tough matchup in this game against Tim Duncan and he will need to do most of his work offensively from the outside. Duncan is one of the best rim protectors in basketball, so Morris will not find much success in the paint. Where Phoenix will really have an advantage is in the backcourt, where SG Goran Dragic (16.9 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.7 RPG) and PG Eric Bledsoe (16.6 PPG, 5.9 APG, 5.3 RPG) will be able to use their speed to disrupt a slower San Antonio team. Bledsoe had 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals against the Timberwolves last game. He is really difficult to stop when he attacks the basket, and he should be able to do it against a Spurs team that doesn’t have their best perimeter stopper, SF Kawhi Leonard (15.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG). Dragic had 25 points, four assists and three rebounds against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. As long as he can hold his own against Tony Parker, the Suns should be in this game when the fourth quarter rolls around.

The Spurs blew a 17-point, first-half lead against the Pistons and ended up losing 105-104 on Tuesday night. PG Tony Parker (15.6 PPG, 5.1 APG) returned from a hamstring injury in that game and was miserable in his time on the floor, scoring just three points with two assists in 13 minutes of action. He’ll need to be much better against a Suns backcourt that can compete with anybody. With Parker out, PF Tim Duncan (15.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.1 BPG) will need to be on top of his game offensively. Duncan had 15 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes in the loss to the Pistons on Wednesday. He’ll be covered by a few much smaller forwards in this game, so he should be able to have his way around the basket. SG Manu Ginobili (12.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.1 RPG) had 11 points, eight assists and three rebounds against the Pistons. With Parker not playing at 100 percent health, Ginobili will take over plenty of the ball-handling duties for this offense. He will need to have a big game against this Suns team. SG Danny Green (12.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.2 BPG) is also going to be an X-factor for San Antonio. Green is averaging 11.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 1.5 SPG over the past two games for the Spurs. He is a lethal outside shooter (40.5% threes) and a very capable defender. If he is on his game on Friday, it will really help this short-handed Spurs team.