 were without starters Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. Recovering from quadriceps injuries, both were rested on the first night of a back-to-back.Portland, coming off a 3-2 road trip, lost its fifth consecutive home game. The Blazers (16-15) are the only NBA team with a winning overall record but a losing mark at home.San Antonio also overcame a season-high 22 turnovers, and lows in free throws made (five) and attempted (six).''I told them if I could bottle that effort at the end of the game, they'd win 82 games,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ''I thought we hung in there pretty good. Didn't play great, but I'm really proud of the effort.'' San Antonio persevered by outrebounding Portland 53-38 and getting strong shooting performances from Aldridge and Gasol.''He played big down there. He was more determined to get to the rim, and (was) making strong moves for us,'' Aldridge said of Gasol.The sloppiness wasn't lost on the Spurs, however.''We didn't take care of the ball. That's what kept them in the game for the most part. We've got to do a better job of being aware of the value of the ball and make better decisions,'' Gasol said.Patty Mills and Ginobili came off the bench to score 10 points apiece for San Antonio.The Blazers struggled offensively, as their starting backcourt of McCollum and Damian Lillard combined to shoot 11 of 39. Lillard, hobbled throughout most of the second half by a sore knee, led Portland with 17 points. Jusuf Nurkic scored 15, while Evan Turner and Shabazz Napier scored 14 each for the Blazers.McCollum, who was 5 of 22, had 13 points.Portland coach Terry Stotts said Lillard's lack of mobility affected his play-calling late in the game.''I think if I'm able to play, we win that game. No question about it,'' Lillard said.San Antonio led 54-46 at halftime after a torrid first half from Aldridge and Gasol, who combined to shoot 15 of 20 from the floor.The Spurs withstood a rough stretch during the third quarter, when Nurkic scored 11 points during a 17-4 run that gave the Blazers a 64-61 lead. But the Spurs recovered, grabbing a 74-72 lead after three quarters on Kyle Anderson's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.TIP-INSSpurs: San Antonio attempted only one free throw in the first half. Neither team shot a free throw during the first quarter. ... Anderson (left MCL sprain) returned to action for the first time in nine games. Also back after missing two games was Danny Green (groin). ... Leonard averaged 28.3 points in three games against Portland last season.Trail Blazers: A semi-truck hauling a large trash bin lost control while driving down a steep road in Southwest Portland, plunging into Turner's swimming pool Wednesday morning. Turner was home in bed at the time. The driver was taken to Oregon Health and Science University Medical Center with serious injuries. ... McCollum missed his first 11 shots before finally hitting a 12-footer midway through the third quarter. ... Portland tied a season high with 12 steals.UP NEXTSpurs: Thursday at Utah.Trail Blazers: Friday at home against Denver.---More basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball)
Dec 20, 2017 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Over the past decade, the San Antonio Spurs have won one NBA championship (2013-14) while remaining one of the premier teams in the league, winning at least 50 games every season.Yet no opponent has given the Spurs more problems than the Portland Trail Blazers, who play host to them Wednesday night at Moda Center in the first meeting between the teams this season.Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Portland is 19-13 against San Antonio, 10-4 at home. Last season, the teams split four meetings."The first reason is (the Trail Blazers) have had good teams all through the years," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said last season. "The other thing is they have great fans and one of the best home-court advantages in the league, so it's hard to win at their place." The Blazers (16-14) stand tied for fifth in the Western Conference standings, amid a jumble of five teams packed together. Ninth-place Utah (14-17) is only 2 1/2 games behind Portland and the Denver Nuggets.Portland is coming off a five-game trip in which it went 3-2 with bookending losses to Golden State and Minnesota, the latter 108-107 on Monday night. The Blazers lost to two of the four top teams in the West and beat three Eastern Conference teams that are .500 or lower, perhaps a fair appraisal of where they are at the 30-game mark."We are a team trying to find our way," said point guard Damian Lillard, who is tied for seventh in the NBA at 25.5 points per game.Portland shooting guard CJ McCollum added, "We could be a mediocre team, we could be an above-average team or we could be a great team." The Blazers have been all of the above so far this season."We know we are a playoff team, but are we a home-court-advantage-in-the-first-round team?" power forward Ed Davis asked. "Or are we going against Golden State in the first round? That's a big difference." San Antonio (21-10) has won two in a row and 10 of 13, including a 109-91 pasting of the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at AT&T Center.The Spurs will sit point guard Tony Parker and small forward Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday night as part of Popovich's injury-management program. San Antonio plays at Utah on Thursday night, and Popovich chooses not to play either in both games of back-to-back situations.Leonard missed the first 27 games and Parker the first 19 this season, both due to serious quadriceps injuries.Parker scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting and added seven assists in 23 minutes against the Clippers.Leonard has played three of the past four games. He scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 16 minutes vs. the Clippers -- all in the first half. It was the first time in 110 games the two-time All-Star did not score in double figures.San Antonio's Kyle Anderson (knee) and Danny Green (groin) are probable for Wednesday night."We are trying to get as healthy as we can and get everybody back in a flow," Green told the San Antonio Express-News. "It's tough with guys on minutes restrictions. Guys are in and out; some can't play back-to-backs. Hopefully by the All-Star break, we should have everybody 100 percent."
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