|
 San Antonio led by two points at halftime but separated from the
Trail Blazers in the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points and
opening as much as a 19-point lead.
Leonard, who was limited to six points in the first half when he
took three shots, scored 11 points in the Spurs' uprising and the
quarter ended with San Antonio holding a 95-78 advantage to make the
final period all but academic.
The Spurs (58-10) are 34-0 at the AT&T Center and have also won a
franchise-best 43 straight regular-season games at home since a loss
to Cleveland in March of last season.
San Antonio's streak is the third-longest in NBA history, behind
Chicago's 44-game regular-season home run in 1995-96 and the
continuing streak by Golden State (50 games) and is second all-time
in NBA history for the longest home winning streaks to start a
season (37, set by the Bulls in 1995-96).
Tony Parker added 18 points and a season-high 16 assists for San
Antonio while reserve Patty Mills scored 17 points and Tim Duncan
hit for 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Spurs.
 Portland was led by C.J McCollum's 26 points and Damian Lillard
added 23 points for the Trail Blazers. Chris Kaman and Mason Plumlee
scored 12 points apiece for Portland and Gerald Henderson added 10
points for Portland.
The Trail Blazers (35-34) held a 28-23 lead at the end of the first
quarter thanks to a driving layup by Lillard on Portland's final
possession of the period.
Lillard scored eight points as he played all 12 minutes of the
quarter.
The Trail Blazers did not commit a turnover in the first quarter and
San Antonio had only one.
The Spurs finally caught fire five minutes into the second quarter
as reserve Boris Diaw had a basket and a free throw and Danny Green
hit a 3-pointer and a layup after a steal to push San Antonio to a
38-35 lead.
[to top of second column] |
San Antonio stretched its advantage to 44-39 before Portland reeled
off a 5-0 mini-run keyed by a swooping layup by Al-Farouq Aminu and
a 3-pointer from McCollum that tied the game at 44.
A pair of free throws by Aldridge with 14 seconds to play in the
half were offset by two from Kaman with 2 seconds remaining that
tied the game at 54.
Mills was fouled by Lillard near half-court with 0.1 left, and Mills
ensuing free throws gave San Antonio a 56-54 lead at intermission.
McCollum led all scorers with 14 points at the half and Lillard had
10 for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge paced the Spurs with 13 points.
San Antonio had just two offensive rebounds, two second-chance
points and two turnovers in the first 24 minutes.
San Antonio took charge in the first two minutes of the third
quarter with a 10-0 run that included seven points from Aldridge and
3-pointer by Leonard, who also had a block on a jumper by Aminu in
the run.
The Trail Blazers never got closer than nine points in the fourth
quarter.
Portland has lost six of its past eight games and has dropped six in
a row on the road.
The Blazers, who were swept by San Antonio for the first time since
the 2007-08 season, hold the sixth spot in the Western Conference
playoff race with Houston and Dallas right behind them.
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