San Antonio @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 20, 2017 ) San Antonio 93, Portland 91

LaMarcus Aldridge finally got himself some well-deserved rest and Kawhi Leonard continued to increase his minutes when the San Antonio Spurs knocked off the Phoenix Suns in a brief stop at home on Friday, but another road trip looms. The Spurs will kick off a three-game west coast trip by visiting the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

San Antonio began a stretch with nine of 11 on the road by dropping two of three last week and will continue to try to balance rest and winning while staring at another back-to-back at Portland on Sunday and Sacramento on Monday. Leonard is likely to take one of the two games off but Aldridge, who played 38 of the first 40 games, could be around for both after resting at home on Friday and watching his teammates breeze past the Phoenix Suns 103-89. The Trail Blazers had their own struggles on a recent road trip but returned home on Friday and locked down on the defensive end in a 110-89 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks. “I just thought we tightened up," Portland point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "To start the third quarter, we came out right. We got our hands on balls, we contested shots, we continued to get to spots and share the ball offensively and we was able to sustain that."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Southwest (San Antonio), NBCS Northwest (Portland)

ABOUT THE SPURS (27-13): With Aldridge out on Friday, ageless wonder Manu Ginobili was ready to step up and became the second NBA player 40 years or older to score 20 or more points off the bench, joining Sacramento's Vince Carter. Ginobili, who sat out the second night of a back-to-back at Philadelphia on Wednesday, went for 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes on Friday and buried three 3-pointers during a key sequence to close out the third quarter. "I felt those shots were going in, not a feeling that I've been having that often lately," Ginobili told reporters. "So, when it does come, it feels great. At the same time, you feel like you are helping the team because we were kind of struggling. The game was close. We were right there. I helped us get a little lead, and that makes it even better."

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (20-18): Lillard is still working his way back into shape after sitting out five straight games with a hamstring injury and was only needed for 29 minutes in Friday's win. The Weber State product is 8-of-15 from 3-point range in his two games back but committed 11 turnovers in those contests, including seven in a loss at Cleveland on Tuesday. Shooting guard CJ McCollum led Portland with 20 points in Friday's win and is averaging 24.6 points over the last five contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs SG Danny Green (groin) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

2. Trail Blazers swingman Evan Turner is 21-of-33 from the field over the last three games.

3. San Antonio earned a 93-91 win at Portland on Dec. 20 behind 22 points from Aldridge.

PREDICTION: Spurs 106, Trail Blazers 101