San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Portland Trail Blazers thrilled their home crowd and unleashed a flurry of three-pointers to upend the San Antonio Spurs, 111-95 on Thursday, a win highlighted by the team's official Twitter account:
The Blazers shot 13-of-26 from downtown, coming by many of their open looks by moving the ball in a way that would've made the 2013-14 Spurs proud. They outscored the Spurs by 15 in the three-point battle.
With the exception of Tim Duncan, and a furious second-quarter run from the rest of the Spurs that cut a 19-point lead down to one, San Antonio looked out of sorts for the entire game.
| Portland Trail Blazers | Grades |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | C- |
| Damian Lillard | A |
| Wesley Matthews | A+ |
| Nicolas Batum | A |
| Robin Lopez | C |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| San Antonio Spurs | Grades |
| Tim Duncan | A+ |
| Kawhi Leonard | C- |
| Tony Parker | F |
| Danny Green | B- |
| Manu Ginobili | F |
| Rest of Team | C |
Portland Trail Blazers
LaMarcus Aldridge wasn't able to make anywhere near his typical impact offensively, scoring just 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting, and he struggled defending Duncan as well.
Even still, he made a couple of his patented mid-range jumpers and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Pounding the Rock's Twitter feed described Aldridge's signature shot as "a beautiful thing":
The off night didn't kill the Blazers, as other players made up for the slack on the perimeter.
Tony Parker came into this game struggling, and Damian Lillard added to his troubles with a dominating head-to-head performance that simply made Parker look old.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG/FGA | |
| Damian Lillard | 18 | 7 | 5 | 7-of-15 |
| Tony Parker | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1-of-8 |
Lillard attacked him on both ends. In his dribble-drives, he put Parker on his heels. On the other end, Lillard allowed Parker little space to operate and challenged a number of his shots.
Wesley Matthews: A+
The NBA's official Twitter account noted the "emergence of the #Bow3Arrow":
The all-around scoring of Wesley Matthews was perhaps the biggest reason Aldridge's off night didn't really affect the Blazers.
Matthews went 4-of-10 from three-point range and scored a team-high 31 points. With his typically sharp outside shot not falling early, he took his game to the post and driving lanes. His size and strength inside made defense very difficult for Danny Green and Manu Ginobili.
By the fourth quarter, he was able to move outside and hit a couple of threes that drove the final nail into the Spurs coffin.
On the other end, Matthews wasn't quite as good as he usually is, surrendering 17 points to Green. But he still had a huge, positive impact, registering a team-best plus-minus of plus-23.
Nicolas Batum: A
It's been a down season for Nicolas Batum, but he came out gunning in this one. He scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter, helping the Blazers jump out to an early 16-point lead.
He would go on to finish the game with 15 points, nine assists and four rebounds. He also did a great job of defending Kawhi Leonard, who shot just 5-of-13 from the field. CSNNW.com's Jabari Young shared Batum's stats:
When Portland can get that kind of well-rounded production from Batum, they become a much more dangerous team.
Robin Lopez: C
Robin Lopez was mostly a non-factor, playing just 26 minutes and scoring six points to go with his five boards and two blocks.
He and San Antonio's centers, Aron Baynes and Tiago Splitter, basically cancelled each other out.
Rest of Team: B+
The Blazers had a pair of reserves hit double figures. Arron Afflalo went for 10 points and hit two of four three-point attempts. Chris Kaman pitched in with 11 points and six rebounds, making up for the lack of production from Lopez.
The addition of Afflalo to this second unit looks like a match made in heaven. One more veteran scorer who can spell Batum or Matthews for a few minutes will be crucial in the playoffs.
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan: A+
The NBA's Twitter feed "awarded" the "Assist of the Night" to Tim Duncan:
Duncan's career continues to amaze and confound. Thursday's game was essentially a microcosm of the season: The 38-year-old Duncan's solid and consistent effort is like the lighthouse in the storm that is the rest of the Spurs.
He went 9-of-12 from the field for 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He was also a big part of Aldridge's terrible shooting performance.
Take Duncan's and Aldridge's lines out, and the Spurs combined to shoot 38.4 percent, compared to 57.6 for the Blazers.
This was supposed to be the season Kawhi Leonard took the torch from Duncan and Parker, but injuries and inconsistency have made that less of a certainty.
His 5-of-13 performance for 14 points brought his field-goal percentage down to 43.8 on the season, almost 10 points below the 52.2 percent he shot in 2013-14.
His defense was a bit better, as he picked up four steals. But on the ball he actually struggled a bit with Batum, who has the size to deal with Leonard's length.
Tony Parker: F
SI.com's Ben Golliver tweeted Tony Parker's comments, which both expressed accepting responsibility for his poor performance and "hope" that things will turn around:
Parker's nightmarish season got even worse Thursday, as he had more fouls and turnovers than points and assists.
He looked almost disconnected from the game, floating in and out of plays on both ends and generally playing a step behind Lillard.
If he doesn't get right in time for the playoffs, the Spurs goose is cooked.
Danny Green: B-
He wasn't always matched up with Matthews, but Green certainly surrendered more buckets than his typically stellar defensive self does.
He just didn't have the size or strength to affect what Matthews wanted to do inside.
On the other end, Green was San Antonio's second-best player. He knocked down 3-of-7 three-point attempts and was perfect from the free-throw line, going 6-of-6.
He finished the game with 17 points and five boards.
Manu Ginobili: F
Parker's struggles are compounded by Manu Ginobili's. The two have been San Antonio's primary playmakers for years, but they can't get any traction in 2014-15.
Ginobili went 1-of-5 and dished out just two assists in 12 minutes. Despite playing so few minutes, he managed to post a plus-minus of minus-12.
Rest of Team: C
Patty Mills was the only Spurs reserve who reached double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. His energy in the third quarter helped cut Portland's lead to four, but the Spurs never got any closer.
Tiago Splitter and Marco Belinelli were also solid, combining for 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. But the leader of the second unit, Boris Diaw, could not find his shot, going just 2-of-11 for five points.
Coming Up Next
The Spurs next game will be on the road, Friday, against the Sacramento Kings at 10 p.m. ET. They'll have to be ready to run, as George Karl will challenge them with an up-tempo attack.
The Blazers, meanwhile, will be at home to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, Friday, at 10:30 p.m. ET. Lillard will have to be spectacular defensively if he's going to slow down MVP candidate Russell Westbrook.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
