Well, that was a game. In the second meeting against the Spurs in under a week, Portland had a different challenge ahead of them. Not only would they have to face Tim Duncan for the first time this season as well as Manu Ginobili, but they would have to do it on the Spurs’ home floor and without Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum (wrist and knee injuries). It seems daunting to beat the Spurs even with those two guys.

Well, the game was an epic thriller. It was a triple-overtime game that included emotion-swinging three-pointers, amazing play from all-stars and seemingly impossible comebacks for Portland.

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 129-119 on Friday night. Portland improves to 21-6 on the season and 9-4 on the road, while the Spurs lose their third straight (second triple overtime game in a row. Ouch.) and fall to 17-10 and 8-4 at home.

This was close to, if not the, early game of the year. Portland is starting a brutal road trip that features some of the top teams in the Western Conference. It was crucial that Portland got off to a good start and take the first game even if it was against the Spurs.

I explained the Spurs and how they play in my previous blog post about them. So, let’s just jump right in.

It was a back-and-forth game that never got too out of control for either side. Portland’s biggest lead in the game was 11, same with San Antonio. It was amazing how each team could respond when it looked like the other was pulling away. Whether it was vintage Duncan isolation plays, Danny Green three-pointers or Ginobili’s weird and slightly out of control lay-ups, the Spurs never went away. What, you expected them to?

In each quarter no team outscored the other by more than five, until the third overtime. In regulation, the Blazers could never seem to get over the hump. A few ill-advised shots, followed by blown defensive assignments saw the Spurs maintain the lead for most of the game, but only by three or four it seemed.

The Blazers started off well early shooting 47% from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge had six points on 3-for-6 shooting, while Damian Lillard had five points on 2-for-4, 1-for-1 from three. Why I bring this up is that this would be a trend for the rest of the evening. The Blazers played great defense for the most part throughout the game, but especially in the first quarter. The Spurs shot 38% from the field and scored only 20 points in the quarter. When the Spurs made a bucket with 4:47 remaining in the first, that was the last of their scoring. The Spurs did not score for the rest of the quarter. Impressive considering that the Spurs are still a great team even without some of their players (Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard).

Portland continued to keep it close only having a two-point deficit at halftime. There was this sense that Portland was going to keep up with them, it was just a matter of who could make the most plays. There was the factor in that Duncan had played 48 minutes in their previous game that went into triple overtime against the Grizzlies. Would the fatigue be a factor going forward? Furthermore, Gregg Popovich was using an unusual substitution pattern. He would replace the entire team on the floor at once and he did that for the majority of the game. I do not know if this was to combat fatigue or if that crazy mind of his was just trying something new. Regardless, the secondary team that came in kept up with Portland at stretches, but that was when the Blazers would make their runs to stay in the game.

The Spurs came out hot in the third shooting 47% from the field. Green had eight points on 2-for-4 shooting, 2-for-3 from three. LA would keep the Blazers afloat with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting, 1-for-2 from three.

Then the fourth quarter happened. Keep in mind that Lillard had 17 points going into the quarter. Portland shot 46% from the field and the big statistic was that they went 4-for-8 from three including nine points from Dorell Wright who went 3-for-4 from three. Wright has been on the bench for most of the season only seeing spot minutes here or there, but he had a productive outing in the game against Boston and Terry Stotts needed him. I joke that Wright has one job, make three-pointers. That is what we initially brought him in for. Unfortunately, he has not really done that and has been more of a rebounder and defensive player for Portland. Well, tonight the three-point shooter in him broke out and was huge for Portland. In fact, a fan could argue that Wright was the player of the game mainly because he was the X-factor that needed to occur in this game.

With Portland up by one with :54 remaining in the fourth after a Lillard bucket, the Spurs had all the time in the world to come back. After a missed jumper by Duncan on the other end and with Blazers controlling the ball, it was a good spot for Portland. Lillard drove down the lane and missed what would have been an impressive dunk. Instead, it popped out of the rim and landed in the lap of the Spurs. A scrambling Portland defense and a whizzing Spurs offense was not a good combo. There was going to come a time where Green or some three-point shooter was going to leak out. It was Danny Green, who swished a three-pointer to put the Spurs up by two with :05 remaining.

With Portland having possession, Lillard made a clutch lay-up to tie it up. Portland played great defense in the final possession of regulation and it ended with Lillard getting a block on Green. Overtime.

Now, instead of laying out all the crazy plays that happened, with which there were many, I am just to highlight a few instances and explain some negative and positives of how Portland play the overtimes in general.

In the first two overtimes, Portland made poor choices on their first few offensive possessions. As I have said before, overtime is all about the number of possessions and throwing away one is never a good thing. Both times, the Spurs would draw first blood and then Portland would run down and shoot a three-pointer early in the clock. Those shots are fantastic when they go in, but considering how well the Spurs were playing and how Portland just needed to score, it was ill-advised, especially in the second overtime. The Spurs went up by six and things looked bleak. However, Portland seemed to only score in the second halves of overtime. Wright and Steve Blake would lead the charge to send it a third overtime as they both hit clutch three-pointers.

What did I say at the beginning of the season? Blake would have an impact and really swing the game around in a couple of games. He would do that tonight after hitting a three-pointer that would give Portland a two-point lead.

Portland obviously had enough of playing with the Spurs as they outscored them by ten in the third overtime and sent them packing after a dagger three by Lillard in front of the Spurs bench.

This game had so many aspects and plays happen in it that it would be impossible to lay them all out in this post. But, this game was huge for Portland in multiple ways. One, they beat a good team on the road and in a tough game. Second, they were short-handed two very important players in their starting lineup. Three, it started off this road trip on the right foot and gives Portland huge confidence going forward.

Portland shot 43% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc. They would go to the FT line 23 times and only miss one shot, which is much more Blazer-like than the past couple of games. It was good to see them get to the rim and attempt more shots. The one statistic that sticks out is the steals. Portland had 12 steals. LA had five of them (career-high). Portland and San Antonio basically tied in rebounding. The Spurs out-rebounded Portland 60-58. The Spurs would have 24 assists to Portland’s 18. Another big stat, Portland would score 24 points off of 20 Spurs turnovers. The little things Portland took care of for the most part. Like I said, there were a few instances of ill-advised shots or wasted offensive possessions, but Portland was locked in and never looked rattled even when the game looked dire.

Portland would make 13 threes, while the Spurs would make just eight.

Portland’s highest scorer was Lillard. Remember how I said he had 17 points heading into the fourth quarter? Yeah, he finished with a career-high 43 points on 16-for-29 shooting, 4-for-9 from three with six assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block. In the fourth quarter and beyond, he kept Portland in it and hit multiple three-pointers to keep it close. Lillard would also make lay-ups and everything Portland needed. He scored 26 points in the fourth and the three overtimes alone. He looked like an all-star.

Aldridge, on the other hand, had 32 points on 13-for-27 shooting, with 16 rebounds, five steals and two blocks. If Lillard had not had an insane night, LA would have been the hero. However, it is funny to think that a stat line like this would not be as good as someone else’s. LA had it going, obviously, and scored from everywhere. The one thing I did notice is that Tiago Splitter and LA matchups do not work as often as I would like on the offensive end for Portland. I much prefer him being defended by Duncan or Boris Diaw.

Wright would finish with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 4-for-5 from three with eight rebounds and a +17. Does this game give him rotation minutes? He finally had the game that Portland fans had been waiting for.

In terms of the Spurs, Green and Duncan led the way. Green finished with 27 points on 9-for-21 shooting, 6-for-9 from three with 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal. Green was in one of those zones that happens every three or four games. The Blazers left Green a few times on defense to go help down low and paid for it nearly every time.

Duncan is still Duncan, even at 38. He finished with 32 points on 12-for-24 shooting, with 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks. He made plenty of clutch shots in the first and second overtimes that seemed like the Spurs would take over.

Hell of a game. Portland comes out on top and can feel good about themselves for one night. Unfortunately, they have a game tomorrow against the New Orleans Pelicans. Tip-off is on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PST at the Smoothie King Center (really?). Anthony Davis is going to be the best player in the NBA in a couple of years. His stat lines are that of a video game and he is only 21. The Pelicans are a good team and with a weary Portland team coming into their arena, I would expect them to jump on the Blazers from the start. Stay tuned!