| 28 March 2011
Against an undermanned San Antonio Spurs team, the Portland Trail Blazers learned a valuable lesson, faced some adversity, and somehow mustered a fourth-quarter rally to hold off the substitutes for a 100-92 victory behind Andre Miller's superb performance.
The latest trick up Gregg Popovich’s sleeve works wonders
With starters Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in already ruled out due to injury, Popovich had an idea. He decided to give fellow starters Tony Parker and Antonio McDyess the night off.
Facing a rotation not used to getting extended minutes, Portland’s mentality clearly changed and not for the better. No matter who was out there for San Antonio, they played within Popovich's system. The Spurs were efficient, aggressive around the rim, waited for high-percentage shots, and played solid defense.
Backup point guard George Hill had 17 first-half points, taking on the scoring role. He wasn’t passing, as the Spurs went through him consistently and he knew to attack.
San Antonio’s defense was much better than the Blazers 59 percent first-half shooting percentage would indicate, and their offense was as crisp as could be given the circumstances. To trail by only seven at halftime, they grabbed seven offensive rebounds, flourished in transition with 10 fast-break points, took advantage of Portland’s struggling interior defense, and all in all outhustled their surprised opponent.
“You throw in some scrapping players, like they have,” Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said postgame. “That whole team over there is good. [It was] an opportunity for those guys, and they played great basketball.”
Portland’s scoring balanced in first half, but offense cold in third
To score 59 points in the opening two quarters, the Blazers had three players score in double-figures, with Miller, Wesley Matthews, and Gerald Wallace combining to score 33 points on 50 percent shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge was also a factor, as was Brandon Roy.
In the third, it appeared they were thinking too much about the depleted Spurs being too close, trying not to lose rather than to win. They were also running on tired legs, having played the night before. The combination of the two resulted in a flat offense and an equally underwhelming defensive effort.
Portland missed nine of their first 10 shots in the third, and ended up making less field goals, four, than turnovers committed, seven, in the quarter. Scoring a grand total of nine points, they were lucky San Antonio only scored 21. Yet many of those 21 points were far too easy, coming on a well-oiled inside-out attack led by the penetration of their guards and the execution of their wings.
A five-point lead was deservedly San Antonio’s entering the fourth.
Blazers say touché in fourth to sneak by with relieving win
In the third, the Blazers played anxious basketball. In the fourth, every possession was still eventful, due in large part to the Spurs continuously impressive defense, yet they managed to regain composure to turn the tables on San Antonio.
They scored 20 of the fourth quarter’s first 29 points, running their offense through Miller. San Antonio remained within a few points despite Portland’s success, but the Blazers turned on the afterburners late to exploit players unaccustomed to be called upon in crunch-time.
San Antonio went nearly eight minutes of the fourth quarter without a field goal, hurt particularly by their inability to make wide-open three-pointers.
The play that turned the tide, as Blazers look ahead to Hornets
Wallace made sure Portland would take advantage. His team down five with six minutes remaining, he scrambled after his own miss and dished to Nicolas Batum, who drained a three-pointer to start Portland’s closing 24-12 run.
"A challenging game for us," McMillan said. "But we got it."
New Orleans is next. “This is a tough road trip,” said Miller, who had 26 points. “See how everything works out in a couple of days against New Orleans.”
photo: daylife
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