Trail Blazers at Spurs
THE STORY: The San Antonio Spurs have faced repeated challenges to their unbeaten home record, but Friday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers may be the most daunting of all. The Trail Blazers have dominated the Spurs like few teams in recent history, winning eight of the last nine head-to-head meetings – including three straight in San Antonio. This season's edition of the Blazers hasn't seen much road action so far, playing just three of its first 10 games away from Portland. That all changes beginning Friday, with the Blazers playing six straight road games before returning to Portland on Jan. 23. They're coming off a 107-104 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday that spoiled what would have been a 3-0 homestand. The Spurs kept their perfect home mark intact – and halted a two-game losing streak in the process – with a 101-95 triumph over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Tim Duncan looked like the All-Star of old in that one, scoring 17 points and adding 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Fox Sports Southwest.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (7-3): With offense down across the league as players continue to shake off the rust, Portland has been one of the few teams to average triple digits. The Blazers come into this one scoring 100.1 points per game, good for fourth in the NBA. Unfortunately for them, the Spurs have been even better – averaging 100.9 points per contest with a higher shooting percentage and much better numbers from 3-point range (41.5 percent to 32.2 percent).
ABOUT THE SPURS (7-4): Richard Jefferson has to cool down eventually – but it hasn't happened yet. The veteran swingman has been the deadliest shooter from beyond the arc, hitting 55.6 percent of his attempts while leading the NBA with 35 made 3-pointers. He's had one in every game so far, and three or more in seven straight outings. Jefferson's three 3s accounted for all nine of his points in Wednesday's triumph over the Rockets.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Of Jefferson's 148 points scored this season, 105 have come via the 3-pointer.
2. Duncan has averaged 18.8 points and 10.9 rebounds in 48 career games against Portland.
3. Trail Blazers PG Ray Felton is shooting just 26.7 percent (8 for 30) over his last three games.