|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Tim Duncan played only the first two minutes
and 20 seconds of the fourth quarter. San Antonio's reserves took
it from there and guaranteed the Spurs the best record in the NBA.
|  | | San Antonio's Shawnelle Scott has the inside track to the basket against Portland's Arvydas Sabonis. |
Duncan scored 18 points, and the Spurs' bench had 22 of the
team's 30 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the Portland
Trail Blazers 99-93 Tuesday night.
The strong play from role players like Steve Kerr, Malik Rose
and Antonio Daniels allowed the Spurs to sit starters David
Robinson, Derek Anderson and Terry Porter in the fourth, even
though the game was close.
"It was huge for us to win with our reserves in the fourth,"
said Robinson, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
"They played great defense and hit all the big shots down the
stretch. It was great for Tim and Derek and I to rest and watch
down the stretch."
The Spurs (58-23) had already earned homecourt advantage
throughout the Western Conference playoffs and this win clinched it
for the Finals as well. San Antonio finishes its season Wednesday
night in Seattle.
Damon Stoudamire scored 28 points and Dale Davis had 16 rebounds
to lead Portland, which sealed itself into the No. 7 playoff spot.
With the Lakers beating Denver on Tuesday night to clinch the
Pacific Division title, Los Angeles will play host to the Blazers
to start the first round. Portland blew a 15-point fourth-quarter
lead in Game 7 of the conference finals last season, and the Lakers
went on to win the title.
"Well, now the table's set," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy
said. "I think our main focus right now is going to be these next
couple of days to get ourselves together."
The Blazers finished with a 50-32 record -- a nine-victory drop from
last season -- and lost 14 of their last 22 games.
"It's like Etch-a-Sketch," Dunleavy said.
"You turn it up, all of a sudden it's empty. That's where we are
right now. It's all empty. I think we can draw ourselves a good
picture in the next couple of days."
Since the All-Star break, the Spurs have gone 27-7, while the
Blazers went 15-17.
"It's hard to figure what is wrong with (that) team," Spurs
forward Sean Elliott said. "They seem to have a lot of good
pieces, but they just don't fit together. They are really
struggling."
The Blazers played without leading scorer Rasheed Wallace, who
was suspended for the game by Dunleavy for throwing a towel into
the face of teammate Arvydas Sabonis during the defeat Sunday against the Los
Angeles Lakers.
Sabonis didn't play after spraining the middle finger of his
left hand in the second quarter, and scored just two points.
Stoudamire opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that put
the Blazers ahead 73-69. Elliott answered with a 3-pointer, and
Duncan made two inside shots to cap a 9-0 run and put the Spurs
ahead 78-73.
Kerr's 3-pointer extended the lead to 85-77 with 7½ minutes to
go. The Blazers didn't get closer than four until the final
minutes.
A tip-in by Shawnelle Scott gave San Antonio a 91-84 lead with
1:22 left, but the Blazers rallied with a jumper from Stoudamire
and, after a turnover, a slam dunk from Stacey Augmon to close to 91-88 with 1:01 to go.
Kerr made a jumper, however, and the Spurs made all six of their
free throws over the final 21 seconds to seal it.
"Rose, Kerr and Scott all hit big shots to keep us in
command," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Antonio Harvey, who had played in just 11 games and scored 16
points before Tuesday night, had 15 points and brought energy to
the mostly lethargic Blazers. When Portland started the fourth
quarter without him and let a three-point lead slip away, the crowd
chanted, "Harvey! Harvey!"
Trailing 78-73, Dunleavy put Harvey back in, but the journeyman
forward couldn't find his rhythm again, missing shots and turning
the ball over.
Game notes
San Antonio won the season series 3-1; the only
playoff-bound team the Blazers beat in a series this season was
Utah, 3-1. ... The Spurs have won 11 of their last 13 road games.
... The Spurs are 14-4 on the first night of consecutive games, and
10-7 on the second night. ... San Antonio's bench outscored
Portland's 29-9 in the second half, after getting outscored 20-16
in the first. ... Portland went 26-26 against the Western
Conference.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 94
Detroit 92
Atlanta 122
Washington 119
Miami 91
Milwaukee 89
Chicago 100
New Jersey 94
Philadelphia 111
Indiana 105
Houston 114
Minnesota 87
Utah 97
LA Clippers 92
San Antonio 99
Portland 93
LA Lakers 108
Denver 91
|
