Trail Blazers at Spurs
The Portland Trail Blazers have slowed considerably since a hot stretch bridging the All-Star break vaulted them into sixth place in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers will try to avoid another set of back-to-back losses on Thursday by doing something that no team has managed in the NBA this season – win at the San Antonio Spurs.
Portland looked primed to challenge the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 5 spot in the West and possibly climb even higher while winning 18 of 22 games through March 1, but losses in five of the last seven games have the team locked in a four-way battle for one of the final three spots with Houston, Dallas and Utah. The Trail Blazers got a look at just how far they are right now from being an elite team in the West when they were crushed 128-94 at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. The Spurs extended their home winning streak to 42 straight by breezing past the Los Angeles Clippers 108-87 on Tuesday and are focused on improving every game as they prime for a deep playoff run. San Antonio’s game-by-game focus should help it lock in on the task at hand on Thursday despite a showdown with Golden State looming on Saturday.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, KGW (Portland), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (35-33): Each of Portland’s last five losses have come on the road, and all have come against playoff-caliber competition. “I think we’re playing good teams,” Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “Golden State obviously is a pretty good team, Toronto is a pretty good team, Boston’s a pretty good team, Detroit, they’re a playoff team. Our last eight losses have all been to playoff teams, last five losses have been to playoff teams on the road.” That trend won’t let up much down the stretch, with Portland playing remaining road games at Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State while hosting Dallas, Boston, Miami and Oklahoma City over the last 13 contests.
ABOUT THE SPURS (57-10): San Antonio is still within shouting distance of the Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference and has three meetings left with Golden State, including a pair at home. The Spurs ran their latest overall winning streak to four straight against the Clippers on Tuesday and have dominated playoff teams on the defensive end while holding Los Angeles and Oklahoma City to an average of 86 points in the last two contests. All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard is taking care of the heavy lifting at the other end and went 9-of-15 en route to a team-high 20 points in Tuesday’s triumph.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs G Danny Green went 4-of-5 from 3-point range on Monday after hitting 3-of-28 from beyond the arc in the first seven games this month.
2. Portland has allowed at least 116 points in each of its last six losses.
3. San Antonio took the first two meetings this season, including a 93-80 home win on Nov. 16.