In what was a momentum-shifting game that involved ejections and Manu Ginobili scoring 18 straight points in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers showed incredible resolve in a situation that could have gotten away from them in a hurry. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-100 on Friday night. For some reason the Blazers have the Spurs’ number. Tonight seemed to threaten that, but with the heroics of Wesley Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge the Blazers somehow were still able to get the win.
The first half of this game was like watching the same team play itself. The offense was dazzling and the defense for both teams was on a high level. The Blazers played about the best defense they have played all season other than a small hiccup in the third quarter. They were active on rotations and forced San Antonio to make some tough shots. They got in the way of the driving master, Tony Parker, and forced Tim Duncan to take long two-point shots. Just to add to this mirror concept, both teams scored 27 in the first quarter going blow-for-blow. Both teams ended quarters extremely well and both coaches used timeouts and substitutions to great effectiveness. At one point Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich, called a timeout just to spend time yelling at a referee, which paid off in the next couple of possessions. Little things like that made this game special. Both teams knew what was at stake. Portland wanted to start off this devilish trip on the right foot and the Spurs have a tough stretch of their own coming up, including a rematch with the Miami Heat. This game also featured a playoff atmosphere. The AT&T Center was loud in the third quarter and at the start of the fourth as the Spurs were making their run and threatening to pull away. Blazer fans need to get used to the fact that good teams get up to play Portland now. In a normal situation, I think Tony Parker would sit out this game as he had a shin contusion that was quite painful according to reports. But, since this was Portland he put on the uniform and went out.
The Blazers played a solid second quarter outscoring the Spurs 27-22, but, again, the Spurs ended with a Boris Diaw floater right at the buzzer to end the quarter on a good note and having Portland take just a five-point lead at halftime. The Spurs will never stop amazing people with their style of basketball. They may not shock you with high-flying dunks or slick passes, but they do all the little things. They play the game of basketball like chess players.
The third quarter is when this game took on a different tone. Gregg Popovich had been yelling at the referees all game and getting quite animated. In what was, I think, a strategic play on his part, Popovich went off on the referees practically begging them to throw him out of the game. After two made free-throws by Damian Lillard, the Blazers had a 12-point lead with 7:18 remaining in the third, but you had the feeling that this could wake up the Spurs machine. Well, it seemed to have that effect, at least for a while. The Spurs clawed back into the game mostly with the three-point shooting of Marco Belinelli and Manu Ginobili getting red hot scoring 18 straight points in the quarter. All of the sudden the Blazers were down one going into the fourth quarter and looking at a revitalized Spurs team and crowd. To throw an absolutely mind-blowing stat out there, the San Antonio Spurs were 26-0 this season when leading after three quarters. Not something you want to hear as the Blazers let the lead get away.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth fight at the beginning as the Spurs were able to build a four-point lead. Damian Lillard, as per usual, hit a three-pointer to get the Blazers within one and make it a game. You can talk to any Blazer fan and they’ll tell you that this game was coming down to the last couple of minutes. For the first half of the game, the three-point shot was a non-factor for both teams. Teams elected to go inside and try their chances at the rim. In the second half and fourth quarter in particular, the ball movement and adjustments allowed both teams to get open shots from beyond the arc. This would come into play later on. Enter LaMarcus Aldridge. After the Spurs had built a five-point lead with 8:33 to go, it looked bleak. The Blazers were blundering and it seemed that nothing was coming easy anymore. Just feed the beast. LA made three out of four shots in a two minute span to give the Blazers a three-point edge with 4:31 remaining. If you are still surprised to hear that he is in the MVP conversation, then this game should have stopped that feeling right away. He went to work on his idol, Tim Duncan, and it was a pretty sight. However great it was to see, the Spurs were far from dead and this is where I think Stotts played this brilliantly.
Because Portland had gone into LA so much and he had made the buckets, they forced the Spurs to double-team him, which, if you can do math, means there is an open man somewhere. That man would be the red-hot Wesley Matthews. With 2:39 remaining, Wesley hit a 26-foot three pointer that increased the lead to 7, but wait, he did it again with 1:24 remaining to give the Blazers a nine-point edge. This was the quietest 6-for-7 from three that Wesley Matthews has had. He couldn’t miss and Portland just found a way to get him open. After playing the free-throw game and Mo Williams icing it, the Blazers came away with an impressive victory. In a game where everything was against Portland going into the most important stretch of a game, the Blazers showed that it doesn’t bother them one bit. This didn’t happen against the Celtics, this happened against the Spurs who are probably the most feared team during that stretch.
The points in the paint stat was tied tonight as both teams scored 38. Those couple of days off for Portland last week really helped with their defense. It is one thing to see energy on the court, but it is another when you can actually see the work show up in the stat sheet. Portland went 8-for-16 and shot 50% from three, which they were about due for this kind of night. Both teams recorded 21 assists, but the Blazers out-rebounded the Spurs 47-41. In terms of second chance points, the Blazers outscored the Spurs 12-10 on a night when that stat was of utmost importance.
LaMarcus Aldridge is just continuing this warpath that he has been on for the last few games. He finished the night with 26 points on 11-for-22 shooting and 13 rebounds. In his last 10 games, he is averaging 25.9 points and 11.6 rebounds. It is safe to say that he is playing the best basketball of his life since he is finally able to play his natural position with Robin Lopez behind him. LA continues to enforce his will on teams in the fourth quarter and he does it in so many different ways. He can hit his patent jumper or he can go inside and kill you from there. This was yet another great game from the Texas native.
Damian Lillard did not shoot particularly well, but he was able to record a +16 on the night and still contribute 21 points on 6-for-16 shooting, 1-for-5 from three, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Damian went 8-for-8 from the line as well. He had a tough assignment trying to guard Tony Parker, but I think he did a good job containing him. I don’t know what it is about the Spurs, but Damian just loves playing against them.
The hero of the game was Wesley Matthews who finished with 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, a blistering 6-for-7 from three and 6 rebounds. If you watched this game, you did not think Matthews was that hot until you looked at the stat sheet. Like I said above, this was the “quietest” 6-for-7 night from three. He just simply could not miss. Hopefully he takes some of that to Dallas tomorrow.
Speaking of Dallas, the Blazers will not have much time to appreciate this win as they fly to Dallas to take on the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center at 5:30 p.m. PST. The Blazers are ready for some revenge as Dallas was able to squeak out of the Moda Center with a win because of a game-winner by Monta Ellis. This proves to be a high-intensity game as it seems that whenever these two teams meet it comes down to the last shot. Stay tuned!