Trail Blazers at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have won 11 of their last 12 games entering Wednesday's matchup against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers and are putting pressure on first-place Golden State in the Western Conference race. The Warriors on Tuesday moved one-half game ahead of the Spurs, who aim to regain a share of the lead against a Portland squad that badly needs victories.
All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard has fueled San Antonio's recent charge as he scored 31 points in Monday's 107-99 victory over Atlanta after missing one game due to a concussion. "Kawhi's a very special player," Spurs center Pau Gasol told reporters. "It's nothing new. He's playing at a very high level. For him to come back after the mild concussion and play at this level and give us this lift, it means a lot to this team. It makes a big difference." Portland stands 2 1/2 games behind Denver for the final playoff spot in the West and suffered a dreadful 100-77 loss to New Orleans on Tuesday. "That was a tough one," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters after his team produced its lowest point total of the season. "Our offense really never got untracked."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, KGW (Portland), CW35 (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (29-37): Portland is running out of time to chase down the Nuggets, and the performance against New Orleans was disappointing despite it being just the club's second loss in seven games. Point guard Damian Lillard scored 29 points - he's averaging 29.4 over his last five games - but didn't receive much help from his teammates during an effort in which the Trail Blazers shot just 30.3 percent. "It just seemed like we couldn't get right on that end of the floor," Lillard told reporters. "We didn't move the ball. We didn't cut and screen like we have been. We just weren't very productive on that end of the floor. It's tough to win a game when you don't play well offensively and the other team is making shots."
ABOUT THE SPURS (52-14): Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will miss his third consecutive contest due to heart arrhythmia and the timetable for his return remains uncertain after the latest round of tests. Veteran David Lee is filling in for Aldridge, and the former All-Star averaged 13 points on 11-of-14 shooting over the last two games. "I don't want to compliment David Lee too much," coach Gregg Popovich told reporters with a smile. "I don't want him to get a big head. I want to keep him angry and wondering every minute whether he might play or not. He's had a great year for us. He's played well all season long. We're lucky to have him."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs have won their last five meetings with the Trail Blazers, including the first two this season.
2. Portland SG CJ McCollum scored just eight points against the Pelicans after averaging 27 over his previous five games.
3. San Antonio made a season-best 16 3-pointers versus the Hawks.