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Game Day: Trail Blazers at Spurs

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SAN ANTONIO - The Portland Trail Blazers may have defeated the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week, but Robin Lopez was lost in the process.

Thomas Robinson looks to pick up the slack again Friday night when the Northwest Division-leading Trail Blazers return to San Antonio for the first time since being ousted in last season's playoffs.

Portland (20-6) was eliminated in five games by the Spurs in the second round and was outscored by an average of 19.5 points in those defeats, falling 104-82 in the decisive game at AT&T Center.

The Trail Blazers opened this season's series with a 108-95 victory Monday, though any celebration was muted since Lopez left in the third quarter with a broken right hand. The starting center later revealed on his official Twitter account that he's out for six to seven weeks.

So far, Robinson has softened the blow, scoring 15 points with 16 rebounds in his first career start to spur Wednesday's 104-97 win over Milwaukee. He had seven points and three boards against San Antonio after appearing in one of the previous 12 games - a 2-minute, 46-second stint.

INJURY REPORT

Portland: Nicolas Batum (right wrist and left knee contusion) is questionable. Robin Lopez (fractured right hand) is out.

San Antonio: - Patty Mills (Right Shoulder Surgery) is out. Tony Parker (Mild Strain, Left Hamstring) is out. Kawhi Leonard (Bruised Right Hand) is out.

Enter To Win

In Portland's Last Game...

PORTLAND – The Portland Trail Blazers, playing their first game without the services of starting center Robin Lopez (broken right hand), defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 104-97 in front of a sellout crowd of 14,495 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.

“It was a tough game,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “Milwaukee really plays hard. They spread the court. They were undersized so some of the matchups were a little difficult, but I liked the way that we kind of figured things out at both ends of the court. They did a nice job of taking (Aldridge) out of his post ups, but when we got the ball to the weak side, I thought we had a lot of opportunities at the offensive end.”

Portland is now 20-6 on the season, 12-2 at home and 12-2 against teams from the Eastern Conference.

In somewhat of a surprise move, Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts inserted Thomas Robinson, who had played 76 minutes total this season, into the starting lineup in place of Lopez. Not only had Robinson played sparingly before Wednesday night, he had also never started a game after being selected with the fifth pick overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft.

“(Stotts) told me to go out there and make sure I blend in,” said Robinson. “Don’t try to do too much. Not that that was the case, but it’s my first career start ever in the league. I was a little nervous, but it went away.”

Robinson’s trademark energy, which has made him a fan favorite despite not have many opportunities to see the court, was on display nearly every second of his 29 minutes of action. Whether it was an offensive rebound or a block in transition or an alley-oop, Robinson made sure his presence was felt.