[February 20, 2014]PORTLAND, Ore. —
Both teams were
short-handed, but the San Antonio Spurs filled the void a little bit
better than the Portland Trail Blazers did Wednesday night at the Moda
Center.
Guard Patty Mills scored 29 points in exactly 29 minutes off the
bench, leading the Spurs to a 111-109 victory in a battle between
two of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Guard Marco Belinelli added 20 points for the Spurs, who won their
third consecutive game despite the absence of three starters — forward Tim Duncan, who rested, and injured forward Kawhi Leonard
and guard Tony Parker.
Guard Damian Lillard scored 31 points for the Trail Blazers, and
guard Mo Williams added 19 points off the bench for the Trail
Blazers, who were missing injured three injured frontcourt players:
LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Freeland and Meyers Leonard.
Both teams played smaller units, with the Spurs getting the better
of it by scoring 93 points in the final three quarters.
"We tried to beat them at their game, and they did better than us,"
Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They played their small lineup
more effectively. We didn't do enough defensively to get a win."
Mills made 13 of 26 shots from the field overall and scored 13
points in the fourth quarter as San Antonio (40-15) prevailed in a
nip-and-tuck battle down the stretch. The one-time Trail Blazer is
in the midst of a hot streak, averaging 21 points in his past seven
games.
"Patty was spectacular again," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich
said. "He's a tough cover. He's a great competitor, and he has
helped us like that all year long."
The Spurs, trailing by one at intermission, outscored Portland 18-8
at the onset of the third quarter to take a 69-60 lead. The Blazers
then seized the momentum, going on a 19-6 run to forge a 79-75
advantage late in the quarter. Portland (36-18) took an 81-79 edge
into the final period.
San Antonio scored 10 straight points to jump ahead 89-81 as the
Blazers went scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the
fourth quarter. Soon it was 92-82, with Mills leading the way.
The
Spurs' advantage was 97-87 with four minutes to play, but the
Blazers stormed back, Lillard's jumper closing the gap to 99-97 with
2:20 remaining. A steal and solo dunk by Portland guard Wesley
Matthews tied the score at 101 with 1:50 to play.
San Antonio came back with five points in a row — a Belinelli
3-pointer and a layup by center Tiago Splitter — to go ahead
106-101 with 57.2 seconds to go. Splitter's free throw made it
107-101 with 32.4 ticks left.
A Williams trey with 24.1 seconds remaining gave the Blazers life,
but after a quick exchange of turnovers, Portland fouled San Antonio
guard Danny Green with 11.4 seconds to go. Green's two free throws
salted away the win for the Spurs.
Portland lost for the eighth time in 13 games. The Blazers are 14-14
after starting the season 22-4.
"I'm not concerned," said Lillard, who shot 13-for-21 from the field
and had six assists and four rebounds. "It's just a rough stretch.
We're going to have to find a way to turn it back around. It's been
a great season so far, but teams are coming after us now. We're more
of a target. We have to do a better job of accepting it and going
after teams."
Popovich was particularly happy his ailing team won back-to-back
games. The Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 Tuesday night
at Staples Center.
"I couldn't be prouder of the guys," he said. "They worked very hard
to get those two wins. It's pretty special for them."
NOTES: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest C Tim Duncan, who
played 38 minutes against the Clippers on Tuesday night, and G Tony
Parker due to various nagging injuries (Achilles tendon, groin,
shin, shoulder). F Kawhi Leonard missed his 13th straight game with
a broken hand. For Portland, F LaMarcus Aldridge (groin), C Joel
Freeland (knee) and C Meyers Leonard (ankle) were missing. ...
Aldridge did not play on the night when a promotional LaMarcus
Aldridge drinking glass was given to spectators. It was the first
time any Portland starter missed a game all year. C Robin Lopez,
Aldridge, F Nicolas Batum, G Wesley Matthews and G Damian Lillard
started each of the previous 53 games. ... Even with the loss, the
Blazers own 14 wins in their past 20 meetings with the Spurs,
including eight wins over the past 10 matchups in Portland. The
Blazers are now 2-1 against San Antonio this season.
Guard Patty Mills scored 29 points in exactly 29 minutes off the
bench, leading the Spurs to a 111-109 victory in a battle between
two of the top teams in the Western Conference.
