San Antonio
Spurs' Tim Duncan yawning on the bench in the fourth quarter during an
NBA game with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Without him and
Tony Parker, Spurs lost 97-137.
PORTLAND: What do you do when your ageing stars are facing their third game in four nights? Rest them, and pay the price.
That happened on Tuesday with the
San Antonio Spurs in a post-lockout, compressed National Basketball
Association 66-game schedule. Playing without stars Tim Duncan and Tony
Parker, they lost 97-137 to the Portland Trail Blazers. At one point,
the Spurs trailed by as many as 48.
'I can't run our guys into the ground when
it's time for them to rest,' said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who
also missed Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter through injury.
It means the end of Spurs'
11-game overall winning streak. They had not lost by 40 or more points
since March 5, 1997, when they fell 69-111 at Chicago.
'It still counts, right?' said LaMarcus
Aldridge about playing an under-strength team. He was among six Blazers
who had 16 points or more.
Jamal Crawford scored 20 points, shooting five
for seven on three-pointers, and had eight assists. Gerald Wallace and
Nicolas Batum each had 19 points before Portland sat their starters for
most of the fourth quarter.
Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs.
The 29-year-old Parker, who had not missed a
game this season, is averaging 19.5 points per game, while the
35-year-old Duncan has been getting 19.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per
game.
In addition to Leonard, San Antonio also started rookie guard Corey Joseph, who had five points.
The Blazers rebounded after a tough 92-103
loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the loss, the Blazers had just seven
points in the first quarter. Against the Spurs, they had 41.
'We needed to get back on track, we needed to bounce back from that loss and we did it tonight,' Aldridge said.