Spurs 92 - 103 Trail Blazers
Final
  for this game

Blazers surge past Spurs to avoid sweep

May 13, 2014 - 6:12 AM Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers aren't conceding anything yet.

Damian Lillard had 25 points and five assists, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and the Trail Blazers avoided elimination with a 103-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Lillard, who was 11-of-21, came in shooting just 37.5 percent in the series.

After leading for just 33 seconds over the first three games, Portland used a big run during the middle stages of the third quarter to pull away in this one. The Blazers led throughout the second half.

San Antonio had won the first three games of the set by a combined 56 points.

Nicolas Batum tallied 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Blazers, who built a lead as high as 20 in the fourth quarter.

"It was a good game, but we still got another three to go," Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said.

No NBA team has ever lost a best-of-seven playoff series after going up 3-0. The Blazers were the last team to take one to a seventh game, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a 2003 first-round series.

Game 5 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

Tony Parker was held to 14 points after going for at least 29 in three of his last four games.

Tim Duncan had 12 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, which is looking to head to the conference finals for a third consecutive season.

"I thought that they played with a passion that we didn't match," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs were just 3-of-18 from beyond the arc.

Portland led 50-48 at the break and extended to that advantage following an 11-2 run.

Batum nailed a tough leaner while being fouled by Manu Ginobili and converted the four-point play before coming off a screen and swishing a 3-pointer a possession later. Thomas Robinson's dunk capped the burst and gave the hosts a 74-61 spread.

Portland led 85-68 after three and San Antonio never cut the gap below 10 in the fourth.

Earlier, consecutive three-point plays by Batum and Robinson ended a mini 8-3 swing to end the first quarter, which staked the Blazers to a 29-24 advantage.

Neither team led by more than five in a closely contested second quarter.

Game Notes

The Blazers outscored the Spurs 62-44 in the paint and 15-8 in second-chance points ... Portland shot 43.9 percent (43-of-98) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the arc ... The Spurs netted 18 points off 13 Portland turnovers.






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