San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers Match Player Stats On Apr 10, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 11, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Noah Vonleh converted a layup as time expired to give the Portland Trail Blazers a 99-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night at Moda Center.

Shabazz Napier scored a career-high 32 points for the Trail Blazers (41-40), who won their third consecutive game and ninth in the past 11 outings.

Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points for the Spurs (61-20), who lost their third game in a row.

All five starters scored in double figures for Portland, including Evan Turner with 16 points, Pat Connaughton with a career-high 15, Meyers Leonard with 13 and Vonleh with 12 to go with 11 rebounds.

San Antonio trailed only 47-43 at halftime despite 3-for-18 shooting in the second quarter.

The Spurs went on an 11-0 run to go ahead 65-60 midway through the third quarter. The Spurs led 76-71 heading into the final period.

Portland tied it at 81-81 on a pair of Napier foul shots with 6:42 left. Napier then scored on a drive to give the Blazers an 83-81 edge with 5:33 to play. Jonathan Simmons answered with a layup to tie it at 83-83 with 4:26 remaining.

After a pair of David Lee free throws, Napier evened the count at 85-85 on a jumper with 3:49 to go. Dewayne Dedmon's hook shot pushed the Spurs ahead 87-85, but Napier bombed in a 3 to make it 88-87 with 2:30 left.

Bryn Forbes' 3-pointer gave San Antonio the lead back at 90-88 with 2:16 remaining. Simmons followed with a dunk to make it 92-88.

Napier made three free throws to get Portland to within 92-91 with 1:44 to play. Simmons' windmill dunk pushed the Spurs on top 94-91 with 1:30 left. Kyle Anderson scored on a drive and it was San Antonio 96-91 with 1:17 to go.

Connaughton nailed a jumper to close the margin to 96-93, and Vonleh's follow shot make it 96-95 with 35.8 seconds left.

Forbes made two foul shots to up the Spurs' advantage to 98-95 with 18.2 ticks left. Jake Layman's dunk closed it to 98-97 with 13.4 seconds on the clock.

After a San Antonio turnover, Napier was stripped as he drove to the basket. The Spurs momentarily retrieved the ball, but it got knocked into the hands of Vonleh, who scored on a layup as time expired.

Portland jumped to a 16-8 lead, hitting four of five 3-point shots. With Leonard scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3 for 3 on 3-point attempts, the Blazers took a 31-28 advantage after one quarter.

Both teams missed their first 10 shots of the second quarter. Portland increased its lead to 43-36 on a three-point play by Napier.

NOTES: Portland rested starters G Damian Lillard, G CJ McCollum and F Moe Harkless, and reserve G Allen Crabbe (foot) sat for his second straight game. ... Lillard said he expects to play in Wednesday's regular-season finale against New Orleans. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts said C Jusuf Nurkic will be medically evaluated Friday for the non-displaced fracture on his right leg. Does Stotts expect Nurkic to be able to go in the Blazers' playoff opener at Golden State? "I have no idea," he said. ... Coach Gregg Popovich on F LaMarcus Aldridge's second season with the Spurs: "He's had a really good year. He's more confident. He's shooting the ball and not just deferring to (teammates) and trying to fit in. He's being aggressive, and that's what we want from him. He's really worked hard on his defense and made a second effort on the boards."