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Manu's big 4th quarter sparks Spurs to critical 116-105 win over Blazers

S.A. can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Sacramento on Monday.
San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers point guard Wade Baldwin IV during the first half at AT&T Center. Photo by Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Back home after back-to-back losses on the road, the San Antonio Spurs kept their playoff hopes alive Saturday night with a stirring 116-105 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Steady All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points to lead the Silver and Black, but it was 40-year-old guard Manu Ginobili who was the catalyst for the Silver and Black, scoring 10 of his 17 points off the bench in the fourth quarter.

After Aldridge completed a three-point play to put the Spurs up 93-87 with 7:29 left, Blazers guard C.J. McCollum scored on a jumper to cut S.A.'s lead to four.

Then Ginobili electrified the crowd at the AT&T Center by scoring S.A.'s next eight points in a span of 49 seconds, pushing the lead to 101-89. He nailed two three-pointers 22 seconds apart and capped his 8-0 run with a driving finger-roll layup. A left-hander, Ginobili even scored the layup with his right hand for good measure.

Ginobili was all over the floor during his scoring flurry, grabbing a rebound before burying his second three with 6:30 left and getting a steal eight seconds before he scored on the layup with 6:03 remaining. Ginobili's big plays stunned the Blazers, who never got closer than eight points the rest of the game.

Ginobili scored his 17 points in only 19 minutes, hitting 7 of 7 shots, including 3 of 3 from the three-point line. He was 4 of 4 from the field, and 2 of 2 from beyond the arc, in the fourth period.

"I truly don't know," Ginobili said, when he was asked about the sequence of his 8-0 run. "I was just feeling good. A couple of shots went in and I was feeling that type of rush and that type of excitement. Flow, they call it. So, I was trying to use it. At a point, I saw Rudy (Gay) wide open next to me and, no, I said, not this time, because I was feeling really well.

"I'm very happy that it happened again today in an important moment. It made me feel good and it helped the team get a lead and then rest of the guys that were in there the last five minutes were amazing both defensively and offensively, so very solid game."

Asked about Ginobili's big fourth quarter, Gay said: "Man, get out of his way. He finds a way to do it each and every night, even at his age. He's a hall of famer and he showed why tonight, even at 40."

Watching Ginobili make big plays became old hat years ago for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, but even he got caught up in the moment.

"It was a pretty exciting time, but Manu has done that over the years," Popovich said. "It was great. But, overall, I thought our team defense was good, tough cover. I thought our big guys were at the rim the way they needed to be. Our smalls chased really well, so I thought our team defense gave us the opportunity to win the basketball game."

The Spurs (46-34) remained sixth in the Western Conference standings with two games left in the regular season. The Blazers, who already have clinched a playoff berth, dropped to 48-32.

San Antonio can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Sacramento in its home finale Monday night. The Silver and Black end the regular season at New Orleans on Wednesday.

Fast-improving point guard Dejounte Murray finished with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gay also had a strong game off the bench, finishing with 16 points in 27 minutes. Patty Mills rounded out the Silver and Black's double-figure scoring with 13 points.

"I'm getting there," said Gay, who hit 8 of 15 shots. "It's a long season. I'm just glad I'm starting to get my feet under me at the right time."

Gay, a veteran who is in his first season with the Spurs, drew praise from Popovich for his play on both ends of the court.

"I thought Rudy was very aggressive offensively, and he made some good defensive plays, too. He had a steal that was important at a certain time in the fourth quarter there and he gave us a lot."

Aldridge scored his 28 points on 13-of-22 shooting and also finished with eight rebounds and four steals. He was a four-time All-Star in nine seasons with Portland before signing as a free agent with San Antonio in the summer of 2015.

All-Star guard Damian Lillard led Portland with 33 points, but he scored only three points in the fourth quarter. Evan Turner (18), McCollum (17) and Jusuf Nurkic (12) were the other double-figure scorers for the Blazers, who have lost three in a row.

The Spurs shot 56 percent (47/84) overall and 33.3 percent (7/21) from the three-point line. Portland shot 47.7 percent (42/88) and made 11 of 28 three-pointers for 39.3 percent.

"Well, it was a tough loss," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "I thought we were pretty competitive for the most part. The game meant a lot to San Antonio and they played like it. We had some lapses that they took advantage of. Ginobili did what Ginobili does. He made clutch shots."

Lillard scored 12 of his 33 points in the third quarter and finished 11 of 22, including 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, for the game.

Lillard scored the last four points of the half on two free throws and a long jumper to give Portland a 56-54 lead at the break. He hit 6 of 11 shots, including 4 of 7 from the three-point line, in the first half. McCollum scored 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting.

The Blazers shot 52.4 percent overall (22/42) and 50 percent (5/10) from 3 in the first half.

Aldridge (14) and Murray (10) led the Spurs' first-half scoring. The Silver and Black's offense executed well, shooting 56.4 percent (22/39) from the field. The Spurs made only 2 of 10 three-pointers, though.

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