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Hill, Spurs handle Blazers

Dec 13, 2010 - 1:44 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - George Hill scored a season-high 22 points and Manu Ginobili finished with 18, as the San Antonio Spurs earned a 95-78 decision over the Portland Trail Blazers at the AT&T Center.

Tony Parker netted 14 points, while Tim Duncan chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio, which has won five straight and 19 of its last 21 games.

The Spurs, at 20-3 this season, hold the best record in the NBA. They forced 14 turnovers and held the Trail Blazers to just 38 percent shooting.

"Today was a good performance defensively," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "That's something to enjoy, but we have a ways to go."

Portland guard Brandon Roy was just 4-of-16 for nine points and said San Antonio's style of play is different than it has been the last several years.

"They play fast on the perimeter, and they play really hard," said Roy. "Tonight we were a little tired and you could tell, they just beat us to every ball.

"They're a good team. We know why they have three losses."

Wesley Matthews ended with a team-high 17 points for Portland, which had a four-game winning streak halted. LaMarcus Aldridge went for 16 points and Marcus Camby donated 11 points and 13 boards in defeat.

San Antonio led by a 26-17 score after the opening quarter and went up by 11, 35-24, after Matt Bonner hit a three-pointer with 8 1/2 minutes to play before halftime.

Antonio McDyess hit a jumper in the closing seconds, and the Spurs took a 50-40 lead into the locker room.

Two dunks and a jumper by Aldridge got the Trail Blazers within five, 57-52, with 6:37 left in the third, but the Spurs responded with a 9-0 run to go up 66-52 with 3:18 remaining.

Ginobili's driving layup with seven seconds left in the third quarter gave the Spurs a 73-61 advantage heading into the fourth.

Portland never threatened the outcome in the final period, as San Antonio maintained a double-digit lead throughout to earn the easy victory.

Game Notes

San Antonio snapped a five-game slide versus Portland...The Spurs, who shot 43 percent from the field, improved to 12-2 at home this season...Portland dropped to 5-9 on the road.