San Antonio Spurs Victorious Without Duncan, Ginobili

After coming off a 37 points and 12 assists performance against the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs' point guard Tony Parker put together an encore performance against the Portland Trailblazers Wednesday night. 

Parker scored 39 points and nine assists in an unbelievable individual and team effort. 

The Spurs won their fourth straight game in a 99-84 victory over the Trailblazers.

It was an outstanding 27-and-a-half hours of back-to-back team basketball for San Antonio in the wins over the Mavericks and Trailblazers. 

Parker injected a tremendous amount of energy for the Spurs tonight. Penetrating to the basket, and finishing drives with spectacular layups and drilling critical jumpshots. 

He did not just do it with his impressive shooting. Parker also distributed the ball very well, dishing out 12 assists.

Parker also worked well with Kurt Thomas on screen and rolls, which were run to perfection. 

During a postgame interview with Bill Schoening of San Antonio’s 1200 WOAI, Parker pointed out that team defense was a key ingredient in the Spurs success the past two games. 

Teamwork defined the Spurs play tonight. They showed that they can compete and win against playoff contenders such as Dallas and Portland with team basketball on both ends of the court. 

Thomas continued his impressive performance against the Trailblazers, pulling down critical offensive rebounds that led to second chance opportunities for the Spurs.

He had a total of 10 rebounds on the night. Overall, the Spurs tallied a total of 39 rebounds. 

Thomas over the past two games has shown that he can rebound, block shots, lay his screens, and hit his mid-range jumpers, which is all critical to the Spurs' success. 

Michael Finley continued his clutch shooting, adding 13 points on the night, and has averaged 16 points over the last three games. He is proving to be critical to the San Antonio's success with his offensive firepower and timely three-point shooting. 

Matt Bonner hit two key three-pointers coming out in the third quarter of tonight’s game and had a critical steal, which lead to one of those three-pointers. 

Portland was lead by Brandon Roy, who scored 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Channing Frye also contributed 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds on the night. 

The Spurs proved over the past two games against the Mavericks and Trailblazers that they can compete with playoff teams that are basically at full-strength.

They can even do it without injured All-Star power forward Tim Duncan and superstar shooting guard Manu Ginobili. 

If the Spurs hope to compete down the stretch and in the playoffs though, they will need Duncan and Ginobili at the top of their game if they want to win another Championship. 

San Antonio's next contest on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers will test them again.

They will continue to be without Ginobili, but Duncan may play. He is listed as day-to-day at this point.