Trail Blazers at Spurs
The Portland Trail Blazers seek to defeat San Antonio for third straight time this season when they visit the Spurs on Friday. Portland was ousted in the second round of last season’s playoff by San Antonio but has posted two double-digit victories this season, including a 129-119 triple-overtime win on Dec. 19. The Trail Blazers have won 13 of their past 16 games while the Spurs have won five of their last seven.
San Antonio has won 60 percent of its games but the defending NBA champions have yet to hit their stride. “Nothing seems to be easy for us this year,” guard Manu Ginobili told reporters. “We are playing a lot of close games, but we are learning from it.” In last month’s meeting, Portland point guard Damian Lillard scored a career-best 43 points while Spurs power forward Tim Duncan had 32 points and 10 rebounds.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (30-9): Standout power forward LaMarcus Aldridge had a strong performance in Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with 37 points and 12 rebounds for his 215th career double-double as he closes in on the franchise record held by Sidney Wicks (219). The timing of Aldridge’s latest stellar effort was punctual as Lillard had just three points on 1-of-8 shooting before scoring 12 final-quarter points. “He carried us,” Lillard told reporters of Aldridge. “They really didn’t have an answer for him and when we executed, he made the shots that he got that were good looks.”
ABOUT THE SPURS (24-16): Point guard Tony Parker missed both December games against Portland due to a hamstring injury and has yet to find his stride upon returning from the ailment. Parker is averaging just 9.2 points in the five games and has more turnovers (14) than assists (11). If he struggles to guard Lillard, coach Gregg Popovich won’t hesitate to call on backup Patty Mills, who scored in double digits in three straight games prior to having just five points on 2-of-9 shooting in Wednesday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Portland has won 15 of the past 21 regular-season meetings.
2. San Antonio SF Kawhi Leonard (hand) is listed as probable after missing the past 15 games.
3. Trail Blazers C Chris Kaman had 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Clippers and has three double-digit rebounding efforts over the last five games.