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.
