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Spurs begin lengthy road trip in Portland

Feb 1, 2011 - 3:53 PM (Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs kick off their annual rodeo road trip in Rip City on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Every year around this time the Spurs play the role of Willie Nelson and go on the road again while the annual San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo takes over the AT&T Center.

Historically, the long trips have actually been very successful for Gregg Popovich's team, which has compiled a 44-20 mark in the eight rodeo road trips since moving into the AT&T Center.

This year's version will last 17 days and encompass 8,965 miles as the Spurs visit nine different cities. Along with the Blazers, San Antonio, which is a solid 15-5 as the visitor this season, will face off with the LA Lakers, Sacramento, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, New Jersey and Chicago before returning to south Texas.

The Spurs warmed up for their lengthy trek by winning their NBA-best 40th game of the season on Saturday when MVP candidate Manu Ginobili poured in 22 points and San Antonio won its 18th straight in the Alamo City, while continuing the best start in franchise history with a 108-95 decision over the Houston Rockets.

DeJuan Blair contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs (40-7), who are two victories shy of their longest single-season home winning streak. That was set November 11, 1989 - February 6, 1990.

"We're going to have nine on the road, the usual rodeo trip. It's important to finish the last home game with a win," Ginobili said. "Houston for us is always a tough match-up. They play hard, they know us very well, and it's a team that I like. They've been struggling with injuries, but they are a tough team. We played a great second half."

Richard Jefferson totaled 18 points, one more than Tony Parker. George Hill came off the bench for 14 points, while Tim Duncan scored 12 to go with seven boards for the Spurs, winners of three in row overall and 11 of their last 12 contests. Hill scored all of his points in the second half, 10 of them in the last quarter.

The Blazers, meanwhile, fell to 2-2 on a five-game homestand last Thursday when Ray Allen led a balanced attack with 18 points, as the Boston Celtics earned an 88-78 victory over Portland.

LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 boards for the Blazers, who have dropped two straight since a five-game winning streak.

"Their execution was really good," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "When you have that many options, playing that way and knowing how to win, it's going to be a tough game."

Andre Miller had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Portland, which got 12 points and seven boards from Wesley Matthews. Rudy Fernandez added 11 points and five assists off the bench.

"We were in the game this whole time, but it felt like we were down by 40," Matthews told the team's website.

The injury-ravaged Blazers, who are already missing All-Star swingman Brandon Roy and former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden, got a bit of good news when an MRI on forward Nicolas Batum, who left the game against the Celtics with a sore hip, revealed a contusion and no structural damage. The athletic Frenchman, who is averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, is listed as day-to- day.

Portland has topped the Spurs four consecutive times at the Rose Garden and hasn't lost three straight on its home floor since March 29-April 6, 2008.