Portland Trail Blazers Claim Dominance with Win over Spurs
The Portland Trail Blazers have found themselves in sticky situation coming into the home stretch of the regular season. Facing six games against three of the top four teams in the Western Conference, the Blazers needed to find an answer. After Saturday night's win over the San Antonio Spurs, that answer was Nicolas Batum.
The last time the Blazers faced the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge flamed them, scoring 40 points and giving his team a 13-point home victory. But when you dismantle an elite head coach like Gregg Popovich, he never forgets. Even without Tim Duncan, Popovich devised a game plan, holding Aldridge to a mere 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. Wes Matthews had 15 points, and Gerald Wallace played a well-rounded game, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals.
But with 0.9 seconds left in regulation, the Blazers did not go to Aldridge, nor did they go to Wallace or Matthews. No, in a last second attempt to win the ball game, coach Nate McMillan drew up a play for Nicolas Batum; he did not disappoint. Andre Miller faked a pass to Brandon Roy and threw up a Hail Mary lob to the cutting Batum who leaped up and tipped the ball in for a 98-96 victory at the Rose Garden.
The crowd exploded.
"I couldn't dunk it," said Batum after the game. "I tried to dunk it, but I was too far out so I just had to push it, and the ball just turned around and in... It was just me and the rim."
Batum finished with 21 points, none of which were more important than the last ones that gave the Blazers their sixth straight home win. But without Andre Miller's perfect pass, that wouldn't have been possible. Miller, too, finished with 21 points, but he also had six rebounds, eight assists and four steals; a veteran point guard going to work.
Manu Ginobli finished with 21 points, seven assists and three rebounds. Tony Parker had 15 points and two steals, and both Richard Jefferson and Tiago Splitter finished with 11 points. But it was the Trail Blazers' teamwork and defense that paid off late in the game.
"Tonight, we hung in there," said coach McMillan. "We didn't panic late. We had to make stops and make plays. We didn't drop our heads, we continued to play."
Facing the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs once again, Nicolas Batum seems to be the answer for this rough patch of games against elite Western Conference teams. He can shoot the 3, drive to the basket or shoot the mid range. Batum plays excellent defense, using his length as an advantage, and he grabs rebounds at a high rate. And he's only 22, so he's got the fresh legs that Portland needs in the last month of the season.
If the Trail Blazers continue to play at the high level they've been playing, they can make a statement to all Playoff teams in the West. Portland will be the dark horse that tramples over anything that crosses their path. And when Brandon Roy turns it up for the Playoffs, there will be no stopping the Blazers.
