SAN ANTONIO —
Postgame
The Spurs didn't have their All Star Dejounte Murray, but didn't need him to throttle the Blazers 130-111 and put on a dunk show for a lively AT&T Center crowd.
With the Lakers' collapse later in the evening, San Antonio went a game up on LA and solidified their grip on the 10 seed in the play-in race.
Keldon Johnson scored 21 and hit five triples, his fifth game in a row with 20+ points. Devin Vassell led the way with 22, and six other Spurs scored in double figures against a Blazers team that is officially out of play-in contention after losing their 16th game in their last 18.
"They got a lot of guys out," Gregg Popovich said after the game. "That’s obvious, so we understand that, but we still want to play well, still want to win. I think mentally our guys were very focused under the circumstances and did a good job. We’ve got another one on Sunday, and we got to do the same thing.”
Josh Primo, Devin Vassell, and Lonnie Walker IV each had poster dunks, and Walker put up a couple of circus layups as well.
“It changes the game, changes the tempo of the game, gets the crowd involved a lot more," Walker said. "At that point, every time we got a dunk, I think we went on a 3-0, 5-0, 7-0 run or something like that, picking it up. It really picks up our defensive aggression very quickly. I’m just happy with how hard we played.”
Zach Collins had one of the best games of his career, putting up 15 points, 9 rebounds, a career-high 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He's getting back in the flow with a new team after missing almost two years due to injury.
“It’s just timing, reacting, being more comfortable with my feet," he said. "I think that sometimes my mind wants to do things and my body’s not all the way synced up yet. But I feel so much better than I did my first game back. Just leaps and bounds better, so I’ve just got to keep on that trajectory.”
"Obviously, all the games right now are super important, so we’ve got to lock in," he said.
Game Story
First Quarter
On the first play of the game, Jakob Poeltl stuffed his former backup Drew Eubanks at the rim. Portland scored the first eight points of the game, as San Antonio struggled on offense.
Devin Vassell cut backdoor and pulled up in the paint for the Spurs' first basket. Josh Primo drove in for a eurostep and finish off the window. Vassell stepped into a transition three and drilled it, and Primo drew an offensive foul.
Primo caught in the corner, drove baseline, and crammed home an and-1 dunk that got the crowd hyped.
Portland hit a three, but Keldon Johnson answered.
Zach Collins picked out a cutting Josh Richardson for a fading jumper in the paint. San Antonio forced a 24-second violation, then Collins and Richardson ran the same play for a 17-16 lead. Portland answered, but J-Rich got it back to Collins for a jumper. The next trip, Richardson caught at the arc and ripped a three.
Collins got a putback, then a board, then an assist to a cutting Devin Vassell to push the lead to 8. Portland halved that, but then Collins and Primo got back to the stripe.
Collins found a cutting Richardson for another paint jumper, then Lonnie Walker IV caught a body on a preposterously powerful slam dunk.
Portland scored the last 5 points of the period, making it 34-29 after one.
Second Quarter
Keldon Johnson opened the second with a three, then Tre Jones got to the hoop for an and-1, then Keldon hit another three. KJ missed a third three, but then got a steal and passed it to Poeltl underneath for a jam, screaming his way to a 16-point lead.
Poeltl posted up Eubanks and scored on a hook, then scored inside again. Keldon eurostepped his way to the cup, then Poeltl finished on the roll through contact to put the Spurs up 20.
Primo fed Collins a lob for free throws, then made an extra pass to Vassell in the corner for three. Walker hit Jock Landale in the corner for three, making it a 22-point advantage. Lonnie drove baseline and finished a difficult and-1 reverse, smiling big afterward.
Richardson hit another three, then Landale got a crafty and-1 under the basket. Walker drove again late in the clock, and finger rolled it in. Landale stepped out on a switch and blocked a three, and San Antonio led 77-49 at the break.
Third Quarter
Devin Vassell started the second half hot, hitting a three and a jumper and a dunk as the Spurs went up 31. Primo hit a three, then Keldon.
Portland cut San Antonio's lead down to 20 before Collins got to the line for free throws. The Spurs led 101-81 heading to the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Tre Jones started the fourth with a pick and roll floater, then Lonnie got the ball in transition and made his third absurd finish at the rim of the game before getting another three to go.
Primo came in, and he nailed a triple. Keldon got it at the arc, swished another, and Portland called time down 114-88. Lonnie missed a three, but made up for it with a huge interception in transition.
Garbage time dragged on, and San Antonio won 130-111 to get to 32-45 on the year.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (31-45) will host the Portland Trail Blazers (27-49) tonight as the Spurs will look to get back on the winning track and push into the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Spurs are 2-0 against the Blazers this regular-season. Before the game, San Antonio announced that Dejounte Murray would miss the game with an upper respiratory illness. Tre Jones will start in his place.
In their previous game, the Spurs lost to the Grizzlies, 112-111.
Dejounte Murray matched a career-night with 33 points to lead the team while Keldon Johnson added 23 points in the loss. San Antonio also had 14 turnovers.
"It's part of this team. It's part of the character of this team. We got a lot of fight in us. We got a lot of young guys that have energy that don't want to give up on games. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough tonight," Jakob Poeltl said.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. Blazers' Ben McLemore has scored in double-digits in four of his last five games against the Spurs, averaging 14.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
2. In his last five games versus San Antonio, Blazers' Kris Dunn is averaging 12.6 points, 4.6rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals.
3. Portland's Keon Johnson is averaging 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.60 steals and 1.2 assists in 26.7 minutes in his last five games.
4. The Spurs are averaging 9.3 three-point makes in their last three outings.
5. The Spurs are 3-19 at home when trailing at halftime.
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