PORTLAND, Jan. 24 (BNA): Damian Lillard scored 37 points and 12 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 147-127 Monday night to halt a three-game losing streak.
Jusuf Nurkic added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the struggling Blazers, who had lost eight of their previous ten games.
The Associated Press reports that Keldon Johnson scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have lost seven of their last eight games and are second-to-last in the Western standings, just above the Houston Rockets.
The high-scoring first half ended with a score of 74. The Blazers began to pull away late in the third quarter, when Lillard hit a 3-pointer giving them a 103-95 lead.
Rookie Shaedon Sharpe added 3 and then dunked to give the Blazers a 108-97 lead. Lillard made 3 more on the inside of Portland’s pinwheel pennant in center court.
“We separated ourselves in that third quarter. We played the way we need to play most NBA games, separated ourselves and then finished the game clear. It was a great offensive game and an even better defensive effort in the second half,” said Lillard. “At the moment we can’t complain about how we got them. We won the game.”
The Blazers bounced back from losing to the Lakers on Sunday night, when they blew a 25-point halftime lead to lose 121-112.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups spoke to the team before the game against the Spurs. While he didn’t reveal the details of the chat, he said he used the quote: “Intensity has a way of making himself known to a man.”
Afterwards, praise the team for their recovery.
“What we did tonight is really hard to do. In my experience, just being around, losing a game like we lost last night, usually has a lasting effect on you,” Billups said. “And I’m really proud of my guys because they’re able to put it aside and move on and worry about Tottenham. It’s really, really hard to do that. I’m really proud of my guys because they’re able to get the mental fortitude to do that.”
The Blazers held a 40-38 lead after the first quarter. Trey Jones’ layup put the Spurs up, 57-53. But Lillard fouled a 3-point effort with just over a minute left in the first half and hit them all, giving the Blazers a 72-67 lead.
“We scored enough points, we didn’t get enough stops. A lot of the credit went to Damien tonight. He was fantastic. He outplayed us, a great player. He’s who he is, and we couldn’t stop him,” Spurs boss Gregg Popovich said. “.
Tip-ins
Tottenham: It was the first road trip of three games. Next come the Los Angeles teams. … Spurs had eight players in double figures. … Jeremy Suchan finished with 18 points.
Trail Blazers: The Blazers won their first two meetings against the Spurs earlier this season. … Portland is mostly healthy, with Gary Payton second only playing limited minutes. … Anfernee Simons finished with 26 points. … Portland’s record for most points in a game is 156.
moving up
Lillard had seven three-pointers, which ranked him seventh all-time in the league with 2,283.
Lillard now has 42 career games with 30 or more points and 10 or more assists.
next one
Tottenham: Visit the Lakers on Wednesday.
Trail Blazers: Host Jazz on Wednesday.
Rial