Trail Blazers at Spurs
The Portland Trail Blazers went to overtime three times in the first round and needed a last-second jumper from Damian Lillard to avoid a Game 7. Their reward for such perseverance is a date with the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs, who host Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday. The Spurs went seven games with the Dallas Mavericks but left no doubt who was the better team with a 119-96 drubbing in Game 7.
San Antonio gave Portland a performance about which to worry on Sunday when it led by as much as 31 points and was never challenged in the second half. “I’m certainly glad it’s over,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. “(The first-round series) kept many of us up, night after night, trying to figure (the Mavericks) out. We’re thrilled, and I think our best game was (Game 7).” The Trail Blazers echoed similar sentiments upon reaching the second round for the first time since 2000 and have the shooters to spread San Antonio out.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS: Lillard was the hero with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a 99-98 Game 6 victory but LaMarcus Aldridge came out of the first round as a star after putting up back-to-back 40-point outings to start the series and averaging 29.8 points and 11.2 rebounds in the six games. “It was a great series,“ Aldridge told reporters. “We feel like we got better from it … and we feel like we should be better for the next round.” Aldridge’s mid-range game will force Spurs star Tim Duncan outside the paint, leaving room for Lillard to drive and Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum space to spot up on the perimeter. Lillard averaged 25.5 points and 6.7 assists against the Rockets and went 23-of-47 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE SPURS: San Antonio All-Star point guard Tony Parker won’t hoist as many 3-pointers as Lillard but will make the young Portland star work on the defensive end by attacking the paint and running the pick-and-roll with Duncan and Tiago Splitter. Parker put up 32 points in the Game 7 victory on Sunday and averaged 19.9 in the series. Duncan averaged 17.3 points on 58 percent shooting and 8.4 rebounds in the first round and Manu Ginobili put up 17.7 points in the series to cap a strong showing for the “Big Three.” The Spurs also got a boost from Danny Green, who struggled early in the series but came on with 16.5 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lillard averages 26.3 points in seven career games against the Spurs.
2. The teams split four regular-season meetings, with each taking one game on the other’s home court.
3. Splitter shot 61.9 percent in the opening round and should be well rested after playing only 15 minutes while dealing with foul trouble in Game 7.