| 26 March 2011
Down six with a minute and 20 seconds left, the Portland Trail Blazers needed defensive stands and clutch baskets to defeat the 53-win San Antonio Spurs Friday night. They accomplished what they set out to do, coming all the way back in incredible fashion, 98-96, behind the defense of Andre Miller and Wesley Matthews and the most miraculous 0.9 seconds of Nicolas Batum's career.
Blazers interior defense struggles as Spurs run layup drill
Without starting power forward Tim Duncan, the Spurs guards were under a lot of pressure to step up. Early on, they did. Portland remained close throughout the first quarter, but San Antonio scored 10 of their first 13 points in the paint, either penetrating off one-on-one scenarios or running the pick-and-roll to perfection. Tony Parker led the Spurs with 11 points in the first quarter, and 18 of the team's 28 points came near the basket.
The Blazers were only down four after one, but already San Antonio had the looks of a vastly superior team. It didn't help matters that LaMarcus Aldridge wasn't nearly as aggressive as he should have been.
Bench, defense step up as Blazers to hang close
Portland's starting unit wasn't performing well on the defensive end, and the bench didn't do much better to begin the second. Spurs guards Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and George Hill took advantage of the Blazers poor rotations and spacing to maintain their advantage. Fortunately for Portland, they made up for their misgivings defensively on offense, as the trio of Gerald Wallace, Brandon Roy, and Rudy Fernandez combined to score their first 14 points of the second to keep in contact with San Antonio.
Portland became far more aggressive defensively, and the Spurs only had six more points in the paint at halftime. As a result of this tightened defense, the Blazers were behind by just two at half.
Miller and Ginobili duel to lead their teams down stretch
Miller, who had 12 points at halftime, continued to be assertive offensively by repeatedly shooting over Parker. His energy was contagious, as Wallace, Batum, Aldridge, and Marcus Camby picked up their play to take a 62-55 lead. Portland's performance to begin the third quarter was superb, but because of Ginobili's play-making San Antonio regain an advantage and watched it increase.
He exemplified just how good the Spurs are. There wasn't much Portland's defense could do to keep him from penetrating and passing to teammates in the third and fourth. He ran the pick-and-roll beautifully with his forwards, as San Antonio once again spread the Blazers defense out and subsequently the middle was consistently open.
Ginobili did everything he could for San Antonio, and was the main reason the Spurs were able to have a 10-point lead, 88-78, with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth. He had 21 points, seven assists, and three steals as the Spurs main cog.
Miller, Matthews, and Batum rally Blazers
Faced this deficit, Portland wouldn't give in. Ginobili's three-pointer with 1:20 left diminished their chances, but that's when the trio sent the home crowd into celebration. Miller answered with two layups, picking Parker's pocket for the second, then Matthews did the same to Ginobili, resulting in Batum being fouled with 0.9 seconds left. The Frenchman calmly sank both free-throws, tying the game at 96. Batum wasn't done.
San Antonio's Steve Novak threw away the inbounds pass without any time going off the clock, so Portland had a chance, and Nate McMillan drew up the perfect play. Miller, used to lobbing passes near the rim, threw one up to Batum, who snuck behind the Spurs confused defense and tipped in the game-winner. Pandemonium ensued, and the Blazers now head to Oklahoma City after gathering the season's most amazing victory.
photo: daylife
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