Lillard leads Portland past San Antonio
Dec 14, 2012 - 7:49 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Damian Lillard filled the stat sheet with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Portland Trail Blazers' 98-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and six boards, while J.J. Hickson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won two in a row and four of their last six games.
"It was probably our best win this season because we played an entire game," Portland coach Terry Stotts said of beating the Spurs. "We didn't have to come back. We were steady and played well throughout."
Luke Babbitt registered 12 points and Nicolas Batum had 11 points and eight assists in the win.
Tony Parker tallied 21 points and five assists for San Antonio, which dropped back-to-back contests for the first time this season.
Tim Duncan had 16 points and six boards in defeat.
"We just couldn't find any rhythm," Duncan admitted. "Give credit to [the Blazers]. They made shots when they needed to and kept us at bay."
The Blazers' advantage in the final frame peaked at 12 following Aldridge's pullup jumper, which made it 83-71, with 10:08 to play.
But the Spurs fought back later in the stanza and an 11-6 stretch, capped by a Danny Green 3-pointer, pulled the visitors within 91-88 with 2:22 remaining.
Portland, though, netted seven of the last nine points to seal the outcome.
After Lillard and Duncan traded baskets, Batum nailed a triple on the right wing and increased the Portland margin to 96-90 with 1:08 left.
Parker missed a layup at the other end, but Babbitt turned the ball over on the Blazers' ensuing trip down the floor. Green, though, missed a pair of treys and Batum sank two free throws to conclude the scoring with eight ticks to go.
Portland outscored San Antonio, 23-21, in the first quarter and took a 49-45 edge into the locker room.
Game Notes
San Antonio committed 19 turnovers, which led to 17 Portland points ... The Blazers made 11-of-12 from the foul line ... The Spurs shot 45.8 percent (33- of-72) from the field, while Portland finished 45.5 percent (40-of-88) from the floor.
- SAN ANTONIO: 90
PORTLAND: 98
Final
Dec 14 1:14 AM - 128
roots - 118
roots - SAN ANTONIO: 69
PORTLAND: 76
End of 3rd
Dec 14 12:38 AM - SAN ANTONIO: 45
PORTLAND: 49
Halftime
Dec 13 11:51 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 21
PORTLAND: 23
End of 1st
Dec 13 11:19 PM - SAN ANTONIO: 0
PORTLAND: 0
1st Quarter - 11:33
Dec 13 10:52 PM
Related News
- Embiid shakes off sprained hand, Sixers edge Spurs Jan 3
- 76ers' Embiid starts vs. Spurs with sprained right hand Jan 3
- Hard to believe, but Pop was once unwanted _ by Spurs fans Jan 3
- Thomas shines in debut as Cavs down Trail Blazers 127-110 Jan 2
- McCollum scores 32, leads Blazers over Bulls 124-120 in OT Jan 2
- NBA Note - Portland Trail Blazers Lillard, Damian Dec 31
- NBA Note - San Antonio Spurs Aldridge, LaMarcus Dec 31
- NBA Note - San Antonio Spurs Leonard, Kawhi Dec 31
- NBA Note - Portland Trail Blazers Nurkic, Jusuf Dec 31
- NBA Note - Portland Trail Blazers McCollum, CJ Dec 31
- NBA Note - Portland Trail Blazers Napier, Shabazz Dec 31
- Schroder gets hot in 2nd half, Hawks beat Blazers Dec 30