SAN ANTONIO – In a back-and-forth game all night, Manu Ginobili’s fourth-quarter run broke the ice and Portland’s hopes of a road win, as San Antonio earned the victory Saturday night at AT&T Center by a final score of 116-105. A win away from solidifying homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers head to Denver for their second-to-last game and final road game on Monday night.
“It was a tough loss. I thought we were pretty competitive for the most part,” said Head Coach Terry Stotts. “The game meant a lot to San Antonio and they played like it. We had some lapses that they took advantage of. Ginobili did what Ginobili does – made clutch shots.”
Neither team led by more than six points all night until Ginobili scored eight straight points to give San Antonio a 101-89 lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers got within eight points but couldn’t close the gap any further.
“The run that Ginobili went on was a big run at a big point in the game, but I think it was our ability to get stop after stop after stop,” Damian Lillard said. “We pride ourselves on how many times we can get three stops in a row, and I don’t know if we did that once in this game.”
The Trail Blazers are now 48-32 on the year, maintaining a 1.5-game lead over the Utah Jazz (46-33) for the third spot in the Western Conference and the Northwest Division. Portland’s final game will be against the Jazz, when the Trail Blazers host their division rival at Moda Center to close the season on April 11.
“We’ve got two games left, one on the road and one at home,” added Lillard. “One gives us home court for sure, and if you win these last two – 50 wins and the three seed. It is getting tight because we have things we can still get done, but for us it’s more about how we’re playing.”
Playing on his injured left ankle, Lillard made two 3-pointers in the opening minutes and put 30 on the scoreboard by the end of the third quarter. He finished with 33 points (11-22 FG, 6-12 3-PT) to lead all players. Evan Turner added 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and CJ McCollum contributed another 17. Jusuf Nurkic notched the game’s only double-double with 12 points and a game-best 12 rebounds.
“He moved a lot better than I was expecting,” Coach Stotts said of Lillard. “He had a good rhythm on his shot. I’m sure he wasn’t at 100%, but I thought he moved really well – better than I expected.”
Both teams got off to quick starts offensively, with each side making 13 of its first 18 shots. Portland took a 33-32 lead after one quarter. While the shooting simmered in the second quarter, the game remained close at Portland 56, San Antonio 54 heading into halftime.
TOP SCORERS
- Lillard scored 30+ points for the 99th time in his career. Only six players have tallied more 30-point games since he entered the NBA in 2012-13. Lillard has scored at least 20 points in all nine of his career games at San Antonio.
- Evan Turner made his first three shots in scoring his 18 points, tied for his second-highest point total of the season. He has scored in double figures in four of the last five games.
- Meyers Leonard scored nine points on 3-for-5 FG (2-2 3-PT), his most since Dec. 9 vs. Houston (12 points).
- LaMarcus Aldridge made his first five shots and led the Spurs with 28 points (13-22 FG) and eight rebounds. Ginobili made all seven of his field goal attempts (3-3 3-PT) for 17 points off the bench.
NOTABLE
- San Antonio wins the season series over Portland, 2-1. The three games were decided by a total of 14 points.
- Portland outscored San Antonio form behind the 3-point line by 12 points (33-21), while the Spurs gained a 14-point advantage in the paint (56-42).
- The Trail Blazers kept the Spurs off the offensive glass completely in the first half, grabbing a 5-0 advantage in offensive rebounds by halftime. It marks the only time this season that San Antonio failed to collect an offensive rebound in the first half.
- Damian Lillard (left ankle) returned to action after missing just one game – Thursday at Houston.
QUOTABLE
“If you would have told me that we’d have 48 wins and have two games left to have a chance to finish in third place, I would have told you I’d take it.” – CJ McCollum
LISTEN UP
NEXT UP Portland finishes its road schedule with a trip to Denver on Monday night at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports Northwest and NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM.
The Nuggets (44-35) lead the series, 2-1, but the Trail Blazers are guaranteed to finish higher in the Western Conference standings. While Portland competes for homecourt advantage, Denver is in the middle of a tight race for a playoff spot with less than a week remaining.