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Spurs beat Blazers, lock up West's top seed

Apr 24, 2012 - 4:27 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - San Antonio locked up the top spot in the Western Conference as 13 different Spurs scored in a 124-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at AT&T Center on Monday.

Tim Duncan and Danny Green led the way with 18 points apiece while Tony Parker chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Spurs earn their eighth straight victory.

"Everybody wants to go into the playoffs healthy and with energy and with rhythm," said San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich. We're not different from anyone else so hopefully that's the position we are in."

San Antonio is locked into the first seed in the West and is tied with the idle Chicago Bulls for the best record in the NBA.

Wesley Matthews poured in a game-high 24 points and J.J. Hickson added 14 for Portland, which has dropped six straight games for the first time since Nov. 20-Dec. 3, 2010.

"I think they're playing their best basketball of the year at the right time for them," said Portland interim head coach Kaleb Canales about the Spurs. "They're playing well offensively, sharing the basketball, making the extra pass, and defensively I was really impressed with their communication tonight on the defensive end of the floor."

Green opened the contest with consecutive three-pointers as San Antonio jumped out to an 18-6 lead and never looked back. The Spurs led by as many as 17 in the frame and took 31-18 lead after one.

A 10-0 run had the Trail Blazers within nine early in the second, but Green and Gary Neal buried consecutive triples to restore a double-digit advantage for the Spurs at 43-28.

The lead touched 19 at its peak in the second before Neal buried three at the line after being fouled on a three-point attempt just before the halftime buzzer to send the Spurs into the locker room with a 63-41 lead.

San Antonio held a 20-point advantage throughout the third, scoring eight of the quarter's final 10 points to take a 91-65 edge into the fourth.

Portland cut the lead to 20 with back-to-back threes from Matthews to start the fourth, but the Spurs countered with the next 12 points to put the game out of reach, taking a 103-71 lead with eight minutes remaining.

Game Notes

San Antonio will finish the season with a back-to-back road trip against Phoenix on Wednesday and Golden State on Thursday...San Antonio now leads the all-time series 73-72...The Spurs shot 59.3 percent for the game, compared to just 38.5 percent from the Blazers...San Antonio recorded a season-high 34 assists.