Spurs at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are hoping a change of scenery will improve their chances in the Western Conference semifinals. The Trail Blazers will try to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole when they host the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 on Saturday. The Spurs had little trouble winning the first two games while getting off to blazing starts in each and are averaging 115 points in the series behind sharp shooting and solid bench play.
San Antonio picked up the habit of strong starts in Game 7 of its first-round win over the Dallas Mavericks and carried it over to the semifinals, putting each of the two games away by the half and cruising through the rest of the contest. “It happened pretty quickly,” Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “They’re one of the best in the league in coming at you. They come at you in waves, and it really ballooned there in the second quarter.” The Spurs outscored the Trail Blazers 41-25 in the second quarter of Game 2 to build up a 70-51 cushion at the break.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE SPURS: Tony Parker carried the biggest piece of the offense in Game 1 and followed it up with 16 points and 10 assists in Game 2. The All-Star point guard got plenty of help from San Antonio’s plethora of sharpshooters, as Kawhi Leonard knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts en route to a team-high 20 points and Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli hit two apiece as the Spurs went 12-of-20 from beyond the arc. “The whole team was playing great,” Parker told reporters. “The ball movement was great. Kawhi and Marco were making shots. We did our job. We won our first two games at home.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS: Portland All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard both had a difficult time finding a groove in Game 2, and Aldridge was just 6-of-23 from the floor in the contest. “I definitely wasn’t in a good rhythm tonight,” Aldridge told reporters after the game. “I missed two dunks and four or five layups, so if those shots go in then the whole game is different. We know we haven’t played our best basketball, so now we have to.” The Trail Blazers should have some confidence heading home after clinching the first-round series over the Houston Rockets with a dramatic 99-98 win in their own building.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio is shooting a combined 58.8 percent from the field in the first half in the series.
2. Lillard buried the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the finale against the Rockets but is just 1-of-7 from behind the arc against the Spurs.
3. San Antonio’s reserves are outscoring Portland’s 100-37 in the first two games.