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Aldridge, Roy help Blazers rout Spurs

Mar 2, 2009 - 4:45 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Not even the return of Tim Duncan could slow the Portland Trail Blazers.

LaMarcus Aldridge collected 26 points and seven rebounds and Brandon Roy added 26 points as the Blazers trounced Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, 102-84, on Sunday.

Steve Blake added 15 points and six assists and Joel Pryzbilla finished with 10 rebounds for Portland, which improved to 24-5 at home - the second-best mark in the Western Conference.

"You don't expect to blow out the Spurs, a good team like that," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "But we played good basketball. We did the things we talked about we need to do, which was attack the paint. We got to the free-throw line, we moved the ball. We were able to get open shots as well as get to the free-throw line."

Duncan returned to the lineup after missing three straight games with a sore right knee but looked a little rusty, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and four rebounds in 26 minutes.

"I feel a lot better than I did when I went out," Duncan said. "It was a good rehab week."

San Antonio is still not a full strength, however, as Manu Ginobili missed his seventh straight game with a stress reaction in his right ankle. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is expected to be out at least another week.

"The Trail Blazers played a (heck) of a game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They came out aggressive, physically.

"They coasted to the win. They were great in every way."

The Blazers were on fire right out of the gate, scoring 33 points in the first quarter and 31 in second to cruise into the break with a 64-37 edge. Portland shot 61 percent (25-of-41) in the opening 24 minutes, led by 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from Aldridge.

"You know, just a great first half," McMillan said.

"Beating a team of that caliber, having Tim back we thought it was going to be tough," Aldridge said. "It feels good, when you see tough shots go in. I think that I'm trying to stay in my boundaries and not take bad shots. I think I did that tonight."

Aldridge finished the contest 10-of-14 from the floor while Roy hit 11-of-17 shots to lead the Blazers to a 49 percent shooting effort.

"I think the magnitude of this game, it's a big game for us," Roy said. "I just remembered they guarded me a certain way in San Antonio. I just wasn't able to make the shot. But tonight I was ready to make that shot. I think LaMarcus did a good job of bringing it."

Portland took care of business on the glass as well, outrebounding San Antonio, 42-35.

Tony Parker led with 15 points and Roger Mason added 13 for the Spurs, who failed to make up much ground in the third and pulled all of their starters early in the fourth quarter.

"They played better than us, shot the ball very well and played good defense," Parker said. "They had a lot more energy."