Spurs close out Blazers

Await winner of Clippers/Thunder  match up

The San Antonio Spurs took care of business on their home floor, closing out the Portland Trailblazers.  The Spurs were without the services of point guard Tony Parker most of the evening as he went out early in the game with a hamstring injury.  A key factor to the 84-102 pasting was a 40-7 differential in bench points in favor of the Spurs as well as forcing 18 Blazer turnovers, five  of which Kawhi Leonard collected.

“My mindset was just trying to be aggressive on the offensive end,” Leonard said. “Just knowing Tony was out, he’s very aggressive and still try to stick with our system. Play our offense, move the ball, just try to be a little more aggressive.”

The Spurs also had  (a franchise high in the Tim Duncan Era) 43  Fast Break points  and 24 assists on 42 buckets.

“Mills, Green and Leonard made 3’s, and they were timely ones that would just build momentum,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “They got out into transition. Those guys let it fly with a lot of confidence. In both halves, those runs took a toll on us.  Their transition points were a big factor in the series, especially in the first two games and again tonight. They scored on 12 of 15 fast breaks. Then they’d throw a ‘3’ on top of it, just for good measure.

The Spurs await the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Los Angeles Clippers series.  The Thunder currently lead the series three games to four with Game Six scheduled for tonight.  In the meantime, the Spurs will rest up and get Tony Parker healthy for the Western Conference Finals.

 

Blazers control Spurs in game Four

LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum had monster games to combine for 33 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists to help defeat the San Antonio Spurs at the Mako center Monday night.  Damian Lillard chipped in 25 points and five assists in the Blazers 92-103 victory.

“It was about wanting it more.,” Lillard said after the game. “The Spurs are a championship team, but we didn’t want to be that team to get swept, or the team that facing uphill battle that gave up. We weren’t ready to go home.”

The Spurs were led by Tony Parker’s 14 points while Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw chipped in 12 and Kwai Leonard’s 10 points but it wasn’t enough to overcome a strong start from the Blazers.

“The energy was weird tonight,” Parker said. “You have to give a lot of credit to Portland. They played great. They came out of the gates and I thought Batum was great tonight. He gave them a big boost.”

Be sure to get your tickets to Game Five, Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.  Great seats and cheap tickets still remain. Come on out and Support your San Antonio Spurs!

Spurs ready to close out Round Two on the Road

After a 118-103 victory Saturday night, a heart shot to the Portland Trailblazers, the San Antonio Spurs are preparing to sweep and move back home to wait for the winners of the Oklahoma Thunder/LA Clippers match up.  That series is currently tied at two games apiece and Spurs fans hope that it goes all seven games.  The closeout game is the hardest in the NBA Playoffs and  Tony Parker, who is averaging 26.3 per game this series, knows it will take all the Spurs effort to put the Blazers away.

“The close-out is always the hardest game,” Parker said.  “We know Portland is going to come out and play with a lot of motivation. They (the Blazers) have nothing to lose. I’m sure they want to win a game in front of their hometown. We’re going to have to match their energy, but it would be great to get it and get a rest.”

The Blazers know that they will have to perform at a higher level if they want to stretch this series out any but fighting from behind is something they cannot do if they expect to win.

“It’s the same story, We kept digging ourselves a hole,” Portland point guard Wesley Matthews said.

“You dig a hole and then fight back and give yourself a chance, and they have an answer,” Portland guard Damian Lillard said.

If the Blazers pull off a victory tonight, Game Five is scheduled for Wednesday May 14th.  Great seats and cheap tickets will be available here so get yours soon!