San Antonio fought throughout the game, but looked overmatched as their three-game winning streak came to an end.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (9-19) saw their three-game winning streak snapped by the Portland Trail Blazers, who handed them a 128-112 loss at the AT&T Center on Wednesday night.
Keldon Johnson had 25 points to lead six Spurs in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 37 from Damian Lillard and a hot-shooting night from Portland overall.
This would’ve been a difficult matchup for the Spurs anyway, but their injury situation certainly didn’t help. Zach Collins joined Jakob Poeltl in street clothes, leaving San Antonio with Charles Bassey and Gorgui Dieng as the healthy centers. Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell are working their way back, so they came off the bench. They were also without Romeo Langford, who has been a revelation in recent games.
Portland came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, and the defensive intensity behind San Antonio’s recent winning streak was largely absent in the early going. The Blazers attacked the rim and made extra passes, and the Spurs couldn’t seem to keep up as they gave up plenty of open looks from outside. As the game went on, the confidence boosted by those easy shots translated to more contested attempts.
When you’re picking the ball up out of the basket and attacking a set defense, it makes offense tougher too. San Antonio had 11 assists and 11 turnovers in the first 24 minutes.
Devin Vassell has been hooping of late, but missed his first five attempts. He made his next three though, including a deep pull-up three in pick and roll.
The Blazers hit 10-21 from three and had 16 assists as they scored a season-high 73 in the first half, led by Damian Lillard with 22. Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant combined for 29.
Keldon Johnson started the second half with a few strong buckets inside, then Bassey caught a lob from Tre Jones and popped in another dime from his point guard. The problem for San Antonio was that Dame remained hot on the other end.
Keldon hit a three and Devin cashed in on a four-point play to cap an 11-0 run that brought the Spurs within seven points.
Vassell fed McDermott for three, then he picked off a pass by Lillard and took it the other way for free throws to cut it to four.
Dame dimed on a lob and then banged a pair of deep threes. Dieng knocked one down from outside. Portland led 97-89 heading to the fourth.
The Blazers opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run before a pair of buckets by Tre Jones brought about a timeout. Keldon finished a nice up and under layup to briefly cut it to eight.
Portland, however, ripped off an 11-2 run that basically put it out of reach. The newly-acquired Stanley Johnson checked in for the first time as a Spur, assisting on a three by Isaiah Roby and then hitting an in-between jumper.
San Antonio fell 128-112, snapping their three game winning streak. They’ll head down to Mexico City, where they’ll host the Miami Heat on Saturday.
PREVIOUS GAME
The Spurs are coming off a 112-111 home win over the Cavaliers. The team also riding a three-game win streak.
Josh Richardson had 24 points and two assists to lead the team while Keldon Johnson added 21 points. Tre Jones finished with 15 points and five assists while Devin Vassell recorded 16 points off the bench.
“[We’re] playing with a little bit of grunt. More physicality. More purposeful movement. People being responsible for who they are guarding, Taking some pride in it and it follows through on the board. That’s what kept us in the game and we’re fortunate to make some shots tonight,” Gregg Popovich said.
INJURY REPORT
The Spurs announced that rookie guard Blake Wesley will be available tonight against the Trail Blazers.
LOCKED ON SPURS GAME PREVIEW
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Statement Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Blazers have connected on more three-point shots than their opponents in four-straight games.
2. The Blazers are 5-0 on the road when leading at halftime.
3. The Blazers are 4-1 in their last five games.
4. The Spurs have made seven-or-more three-point shots in three-straight games.
5. What out for the third period. The Spurs are 0-8 at home when trailing after the third period.
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