No Parker & Duncan, Spurs fall to Blazers 137-97

[February 22, 2012]  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and the Portland Trail Blazers routed San Antonio 137-97 Tuesday night while the Spurs rested Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Jamal Crawford scored 20 points, shooting 5 for 7 on 3-pointers, and had eight assists for the Blazers, who led by as many as 48 points and sat all of their starters for most of the fourth quarter. Gerald Wallace and Nicolas Batum each had 19 points.

Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead San Antonio, which snapped an 11-game winning streak overall and an eight-game streak on the road.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game that he was resting Parker and Duncan because the Spurs were playing three games in four nights. Parker is averaging 19.5 points per game, while Duncan's averaging 19.9 points and 8.6 rebounds.

"They've been going and going and going and if you don't do it now I think you're asking for trouble," Popovich said.

Parker had started in all of the Spurs' first 32 games this season.

San Antonio was also without guard Manu Ginobili for the second straight game because of a strained left oblique. Ginobili is expected to miss two weeks.

The Spurs were playing their annual rodeo road trip which keeps them away from home for an extended period while the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo takes over the AT&T Center. The team was coming off a 106-102 victory at Utah on Monday night. They travel to Denver on Thursday for their final game before the All-Star break.

In addition to Leonard, the Spurs also started rookie guard Corey Joseph, who had five points. Danny Green finished with 16 points.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan tinkered with his starting lineup, starting Crawford at the point rather than Raymond Felton. Crawford started a game for the Blazers earlier this season but is normally a reserve. He won the NBA's Sixth Man award for the 2009-10 season while with Atlanta.

Felton has struggled this season, and had just nine points in Portland's 103-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. He finished with 16 points against the Spurs.

Coming off the bench, Felton hit two straight 3-pointers that put the Blazers up 35-20. He added another one to put Portland up 41-23 at the end of the first quarter. It was the most points the Blazers scored in a quarter all season.

Aldridge hit a layup that made it 53-32, and Jamal Crawford sank a 3-pointer that sent Portland to the break with a 66-43 lead.

Batum's 3-pointer made it 88-55 and it was never a contest. Luke Babbitt made a 3-pointer that gave the Blazers a 120-75 lead with 7:11 left, but many fans had departed long before then.

Wesley Matthews, who finished with 11 points, left the game early in the fourth quarter with a mild left ankle sprain.

NOTES: Aldridge has a cameo in this week's episode of "Portlandia," the IFC channel's comedy about life in the Rose City. Aldridge appears with director Penny Marshall. ... Portland gets an extended rest over the All-Star break and doesn't play again until Feb. 29, when the team visits Denver.

[Associated Press; By ANNE M. PETERSON]

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