With the loss, the Blazers failed to secure home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. There are just two games left in the season.
The Portland Trail Blazers took on the Spurs Saturday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. It was the third and final game of a Texas road trip during which they lost in head-scratching fashion to the terrible Dallas Mavericks and almost but not quite completed an improbable comeback against the Houston Rockets.
And despite the return of Damian Lillard (33 points) from an ankle injury that caused him to sit out the Houston game, the Blazers (48-32) still couldn’t locate their Lone Star State mojo.
They lost all three games on the Texas trip.
Here are some of the highlights — and lowlights — of the loss to the Spurs (46-34).
Blazers First Half
Here’s who took the court for both the Spurs and the Blazers:
Tonight's starters in San Antonio
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 8, 2018
Blazers: Lillard, McCollum, Turner, Aminu, Nurkic
Spurs: Murray, Mills, Anderson, Aldridge, Gasol
Good signs early: Both CJ McCollum and Lillard hit their shots early. Lillard hit his first two shots — both threes — and didn’t appear to be showing any ill effects from that ankle injury.
Blazers and Spurs off to a rollicking start. With 6:20 left in the 1Q, it's Blazers 17 Spurs 15. Both teams off to hot shooting starts, too: Blazers are 6/9; the Spurs are 6/8.#RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Players from both squads were shooting with a high degree of accuracy in the first quarter.
Blazers-Spurs tied at 26 with 2:48 left in the 1Q. Both teams still shooting the lights out.
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Stats via: https://t.co/yAutR6t6Oc.#RipCity pic.twitter.com/gQuEVi4Dp0
And after one quarter, the Blazers had a one-point lead.
And after one quarter: Blazers 33, Spurs 32.
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Stats via https://t.co/yAutR6bvWE.#RipCity pic.twitter.com/llNNpycHMp
The second quarter was much like the first, although the shooting percentages for both teams started to come back down to earth. Both teams continued to play hyper-aggressive defense and an up-tempo style of play that was at least a little out of character.
Wade Baldwin IV once again played tough, aggressive defense — much like he did against the Houston Rockets — but he did have to leave the game halfway through the second quarter with three fouls.
This was nutty, but it worked out:
Aminu launches the corner 3, beats the buzzer. #ripcity https://t.co/Q7dncn6uxC pic.twitter.com/C87OWmuv51
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 8, 2018
At the half, the Blazers had stretched their lead to two points.
At the half: Blazers 56, Spurs 54.#RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Stats via https://t.co/yAutR6t6Oc. pic.twitter.com/UyNwe4q6Ky
Blazers Second Half
Rough start to the third quarter:
Chief picks up three fouls in about two minutes. Spurs on an 8-0 run, lead the Blazers 62-58. #RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
But as it has for most of the season, the Blazers’ defense kept them close.
Nurkic with the block, ET with the 3. https://t.co/Q7dncn6uxC pic.twitter.com/FklHN3NG19
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 8, 2018
After three quarters, the Spurs had the lead.
Spurs outscore the Blazers 27-21 in the 3Q.
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Score heading into the fourth: Spurs 81, Blazers 77.
Dame has 30 points. LMA leads the Spurs with 18.#RipCity
The Blazers didn’t seem to have an answer for Rudy Gay, who would finish the game with 16 points off the bench, or for LaMarcus Aldridge (28 points, eight rebounds, four steals).
And then Manu Ginobili scored eight consecutive points to give the Spurs a 12-point lead.
Manu Ginobili is Manu Ginobili-ing right about now. Spurs have their largest lead of the game, 101-89. #RipCity
— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) April 8, 2018
Unfortunately, McCollum wasn’t very effective from the floor late. He would finish the game with 17 points, but only shot 7/19 from the floor.
Next: Trail Blazers’ magic number and their magic leader
The Spurs, however, shot the lights out (47/84; 56 percent).
Jusuf Nurkic had 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Evan Turner was very effective (18 points on 8-of-12 shooting). And Meyers Leonard played well (nine points; and he was 2/2 from three.)
Three Fun Takeaways From A Not-Fun Game
No. 1
About two hours before the game, Coach Terry Stotts walked onto court in San Antonio and noted to a Spurs official they were using the old Blazers logo on the scoreboard above the court. "Red should be on top," Stotts said. As game starts, correct logo is in place on scoreboard.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) April 8, 2018
No. 2
Wade Baldwin at it again. pic.twitter.com/v7dm7UjY7I
— Bruce Ely (@bruceely) April 8, 2018
No. 3
Baldwin showing more than just defense. #ripcity https://t.co/Q7dncn6uxC pic.twitter.com/kVncU0Typr
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 8, 2018
Next up for the Blazers: Monday night in Denver. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. PDT.