Trail Blazers-Spurs Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Jan 12 2012 2:11PM

No team has been better at home than the San Antonio Spurs. The next challenge to that perfect record comes from the club that has had more recent success against them than any other.

The Portland Trail Blazers go for their ninth win in 10 meetings with San Antonio on Friday night when the opener of this season series kicks off their six-game road trip.

Portland (7-3) has not finished with a better record than the Spurs (7-4) in more than a decade but has dominated this series of late. The Blazers' 9-2 record versus San Antonio over the past three seasons is easily the best in the NBA, including wins in the last three matchups.

Strong defense has keyed their run of eight wins in the last nine meetings, holding the Spurs to an average of 89.7 points. Tony Parker's 12.2 scoring average against Portland over the past two seasons is his worst against any Western Conference opponent.

Parker had a season-high 28 points in a 101-95 overtime victory over Houston on Wednesday night, helping the Spurs improve to 7-0 at home for their best start there since 2007-08.

"He's unbelievable," Tim Duncan said of Parker, who hit four free throws in overtime.

Duncan also had a strong game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He had two steals and a block in overtime.

He moved past Larry Bird into 27th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list and could climb one more spot Friday, sitting 15 points behind Gary Payton's 21,813.

"I'm still a big part of this team, and I want to be a leader of this team," Duncan said. "I want to be a leader on and off the floor. I want (coach Gregg Popovich) and the rest of the guys to count on me to do that, and I'm ready to do that."

The other of the Spurs' three veteran stars, Manu Ginobili, is out with a broken hand, and now they have a new face in the starting lineup.

Rookie Kawhi Leonard got his first start Wednesday, contributing 11 points and eight rebounds. He's scored in double figures in three straight games after failing to do so in his first eight.

"He's very willing, he's very versatile, and I think he's got the ability to be one heck of a player - and he wants to be," Popovich said. "We're excited about him."

The Blazers also have a new scoring threat this season in Jamal Crawford, who was signed as a free agent and now looks to build off his best performance in a Portland uniform.

Crawford scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting Wednesday against Orlando, and the Blazers nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter only to lose 107-104.

"When you play so hard like that, there are good things in your team's future," Crawford told the Blazers' official website. "We didn't throw in the towel at all. We continued to fight and continued to play hard."

LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points as Portland lost for the first time in six games this season when he's scored more than 20. He had a 40-point game in one meeting with San Antonio last season but averaged 13.0 in the other three.

The Blazers have lost two of their three road games, but the one win came against West-leading Oklahoma City. Their trip continues Saturday in Houston and includes visits next week to New Orleans, Atlanta, Toronto and Detroit.

Spurs beat Blazers 99-83, stay unbeaten at home

Posted Jan 14 2012 1:34AM

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Tony Parker had a tough time for three quarters - and then proved that he knows plenty about closing a game.

Parker scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-83 on Friday and stay unbeaten at home.

Parker shook off a slow start as the Spurs (8-4) improved to 8-0 at home, their best start since the 2007-08 season when they started 13-0.

"They did a pretty good job on me the first three quarters," Parker said. "I was just trying to wait for my time."

Portland (7-4), meanwhile, lost its second straight game and for only the second time in its last 10 games against San Antonio.

Tiago Splitter scored 14 points for the Spurs, and DeJuan Blair and Danny Green each added 13. Rookie Kawhi Leonard had 11.

Parker made only four of 12 shots and had four turnovers through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, though, he went 4 of 4 from the field and the free-throw line, had two steals and didn't commit a turnover.

"My teammates were playing great, and then in fourth quarter I felt like it was my moment to be aggressive," Parker said. "I got a couple of steals and made some plays for us to win the game."

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 29 points. Raymond Felton had 13, and Wes Matthews and Gerald Wallace each had 12.

The Blazers played most of the game without starting center Marcus Camby, the team's leading rebounder. Camby went down with a sprained left ankle with 4:22 to play in the second quarter. After going up for a shot over Blair, Camby immediately went down and grabbed his ankle. Following a timeout, he was helped off the floor and didn't return.

He said after the game that he won't be available for Saturday night's game against Houston, but hopes to return at some point on the road trip. Portland will play its next eight games on the road.

"It's tough, a tough loss," Aldridge said. "We had control both halves. We just let it slip away. It wasn't even their starters tonight. It was their second unit tonight. They put pressure on us. They crashed the boards tonight. They had more energy tonight. We can't have these nights, when we have back-to-backs. I think we had control. We just didn't stay solid."

Leading the way for the Spurs' bench, which outscored Portland's 45-17, was Splitter, who scored nine of the team's 15 points in a rocky third quarter.

"We did a pretty good job, coming from the bench, all the guys playing hard, hard defense," Splitter said. "Gary (Neal) had to play the point guard. We brought the energy and did a good job."

For Parker, it was reminiscent of performances he's seen from Splitter in the past.

"He reminded me of me of when he was in the Euroleague," Parker said, "demanding the ball and making strong moves and if he's going to make his free throws then he is definitely going to be a force inside."

It was inside, in fact, that the Spurs won the game, outrebounding Portland 50-36.

"They don't have any monsters in the paint," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "Tim (Duncan) is good and Blair does a good job, but that's not a lot of length. Rebounding is about work, and we know we need to be a better rebounding team, so everybody has to play a part in that. I thought there were some times when we were assuming a teammate was going to get the board."

Notes: Spurs rookie F Malcolm Thomas, a teammate of Leonard's at San Diego State, played his first NBA game. He went scoreless in two minutes. ... Duncan scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. He has 22,805 career points, eight behind Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA career list. ... The Blazers haven't allowed the Spurs to reach 100 points in 12 games. The last time San Antonio reached the mark was Dec. 2, 2007. ... Neal had a large bandage on the top of his head after having to get staples to close a gash. He was hurt when he bumped his head on a medicine cabinet at his house.

Notebook: Spurs 99, Blazers 83

By Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 14, 2012 12:15AM

THE FACTS: Tony Parker scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and San Antonio quickly erased Portland's slim lead before the Spurs won going away 99-83 over the Trail Blazers on Friday at AT&T Center.

Despite 29 points from Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs (8-4) remain unbeaten at home. Aldridge had few places to turn when Marcus Camby went down for Portland (7-4) with a left ankle sprain in the first half. That loss opened the door for the Spurs to win the rebounding battle 50-36.

QUOTABLE: "Camby is the backbone of our defense. But we've been in that situation before. They outrebounded us tonight, and they don't have any monsters in the paint. There were some times we were assuming someone was going to get the ball, and rebounding is about work. We've got to play with a purpose out there."
-- Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan

THE STAT: The loss of Camby opened a whole can of numbers that spelled defeat for Portland. Points in the paint? San Antonio led by 18. Second-chance points? Spurs 17-10. And the Trail Blazers managed 10 trips to the free-throw line while San Antonio was 17-of-25.

TURNING POINT: After the first-half Camby injury, Portland made it to the fourth quarter but was clinging to a thread -- and a two-point lead -- early in the fourth quarter. It all finally snapped over a span 2:45 when the Spurs scored 14-straight points. Parker scored only two points of it, so much of this was keyed by rookie Kawhi Leonard. He hit a 3-pointer, had a steal and broke loose for a layup setup by DeJuan Blair's rebound and long outlet pass. That made it 79-67 with 8:43 to go.

QUOTABLE II: "I thought we earned it. We competed well. (But Camby) is a tough nut to crack down there. He had a couple of blocks before he got hurt and it certainly does change things on the boards for them and defensively."
-- San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich

HOT: Since the injury of Manu Ginobili earlier this month, the Spurs' efforts to solidify the backcourt took another step back when T.J. Ford tore a hamstring muscle this week. But Leonard, who has started the past two games, has stepped in. He and Parker combined to go 8-of-9 in the fourth quarter.

NOT: Jamal Crawford has gone 11-of-52 (21 percent) the past five games. He's shooting 36 percent from the floor this season and 30 percent from the 3-point line.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Parker scored 20 points, but he missed his first double-double of the season with nine assists. Blair had the double-double for San Antonio with 13 points and 11 rebounds despite five fouls and less than 28 minutes of action. Aldridge also missed the double-double (seven rebounds), but Gerald Wallace had 12-and-12.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Mark Henry, all 400 pounds of him, put a WWE head butt on the Spurs Coyote mascot courtside. The Coyote, following his "rasslin" script, fell to the ground, got up but staggered off.

GOOD MOVE: When the starters got off to a slow start, Popovich started finding energy from his bench. He played the reserves rather freely and they responded by outscoring the Portland bench 45-17. San Antonio committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter and Portland converted all seven fastbreak opportunities and shot 59 percent for a 31-point quarter.

BAD MOVE: Not only did Camby get hurt, Aldridge got in foul trouble. That left Portland, at times, with a front line of Chris Johnson or Kurt Thomas, Wallace and Nicolas Batum.

ROOKIE WATCH: Leonard scored in double figures (11 points, five rebounds and two steals) for his third-straight game. Malcolm Thomas, Leonard's San Diego teammate from last season, got his first NBA playing time since the Spurs called him up from the D-League. Thomas had a garbage-time rebound in 2 minutes of play. Corey Joseph (Texas) played for the first time since his recall from Austin and had a garbage-time basket and assist in the same two minutes with Thomas.

NOTABLE: This is the first of a six-game road trip for the Trail Blazers. ... Portland had won eight of the past nine games in this series coming into tonight. ... Portland won the first five games Aldridge scored 20 or more, but now have lost the last two Aldridge has hit 20-plus. ... It's been 13 games since the Spurs have hit 100 against Portland, the last time coming Dec. 12, 2007. ... San Antonio and Milwaukee remain the only teams in the NBA to be unbeaten at home and winless on the road. ... Tim Duncan played only 21 minutes and scored seven points. He's eight behind Gary Payton for 26th on the career scoring list. ... Wallace had hot only four shots in three previous road games, and tonight he matched that total (4-of-11 against San Antonio).

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Saturday @ Houston, Monday @ New Orleans, Wednesday @ Atlanta. For the Spurs, Sunday vs. Phoenix, Tuesday @ Miami, Wednesday @ Orlando.

• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden
• Spurs: Ford, Ginobili

• Trail Blazers: --
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 11

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #34 Kevin Cutler, #42 Eric Lewis
• Attendance: 18581
• Duration: 2:07