Spurs 116, Trail Blazers 92
Tony Parker led the way with 33 points and nine assists as San Antonio dominated visiting Portland in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Marco Belinelli scored 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench and Kawhi Leonard collected 16 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who host Game 2 on Thursday. Tim Duncan added 12 points and 11 boards while Patty Mills and Aron Baynes had 10 points apiece off the bench for San Antonio, which shot 60 percent in the first half and never trailed.
LaMarcus Aldridge recorded 32 points and 14 rebounds and Damian Lillard struggled to 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting for the Trail Blazers. Robin Lopez contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which shot 37.8 percent.
The Trail Blazers went 5-of-23 from the field in the first quarter to fall into a deep hole and never recovered. The Spurs went up 27-12 on Parker’s 3-pointer late in the first quarter and Mills’ jumper less than four minutes into the second spread the advantage to 21 points before San Antonio went into the break with a 65-39 cushion.
The lead reached as much as 29 points in the third quarter and Parker provided a highlight when he spun through the lane for a layup through contact and completed the three-point play with 2:40 left in the period. Portland cut the deficit to 20 points just over three minutes into the fourth but never got it closer as San Antonio put it away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Trail Blazers did not hit a 3-pointer until the fourth quarter and ended up 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. … Lillard committed six of Portland’s 20 turnovers while contributing just three assists. … Belinelli outscored the Blazers bench (18 points) by himself and San Antonio finished with 50 points from the reserves.