Spurs Can't Survive Blazers' Late Burst, Fall In Portland Despite 31 from Jakob Poeltl
The San Antonio Spurs continued the second game of their five-game West Coast roadtrip against the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at the Moda Center.
But, against a Blazers team coming into the game with a 9-4 record and the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, a win on the road would be hard to come by for the Spurs.
And despite hanging tough and a career-high 31 points from Jakob Poeltl, late turnovers and a final burst from Portland (10-4) crushed San Antonio's (6-9) hopes of snagging an impressive win on the road in a 117-110 loss.
Poeltl couldn't be stopped in the fourth quarter en route to his career-high scoring mark. He also added 14 rebounds and five assists while shooting a whopping 14 of 17 from the field.
Devin Vassell (21 points) and Keldon Johnson (20 points) both hit four 3s apiece but also each had four turnovers.
The Blazers were led by Jerami Grant, who had a stellar shooting night while posting 29 points and eight rebounds. He went 6 of 8 from 3-point range.
Portland guards Damian Lillard (22 points, 11 assists) and Anfernee Simons (23 points) were a bit quiet at times, but burst onto the scene in the second half.
Vassell drilled two early 3s in the first two minutes of the game, as he had already matched his point total from Monday's loss against the Golden State Warriors.
Spurs jumped out to a 16-4 lead in a blink, but were outscored ()-() the rest of the quarter. Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe showed early why he was the No. 7 overall pick in June. Confident shooting had him up to a team-high of 10 points for Portland in the first quarter.
Still, Vassell continued his hot start as well, getting to 13 points at the start of the second quarter.
Grant stayed steady for Portland off a catch-and-shoot 3, as he got up to 12 points midway through the second quarter. But Jeremy Sochan kept the offense going after a slam on the baseline and quick shovel pass to Charles Bassey for two points.
Simons, who had been quiet most of the half, had two quick makes from deep to get going late in the second quarter. Grant added two more makes from beyond the arc of his own, as Portland went on a 22-6 run to end the half.
Despite shooting 56.1 percent from the field in the first half, 12 turnovers by the Spurs helped keep the Blazers involved before they took a 62-56 lead altogether headed into the locker room.
Hot shooting for Portland and Grant continued through the third quarter, but six straight points from Bates-Diop and efficient scoring on the interior from Poeltl helped keep the Spurs in the fight at the end of the third, as they trailed 93-89.
But Poeltl got comfy in the paint against former Spur Drew Eubanks, as kept up his career-high scoring night with five straight makes to begin the fourth to seize momentum for the Spurs.
After a two-minute scoring drought by both teams, the Blazers took a 110-106 lead on a 10-0 run that saw five points from Eubanks and a 32-foot 3-point bomb from Lillard.
A stumbling step-back 3-pointer from Simons made Moda Center erupt and all but secured game-winning momentum for the home team. Two late turnovers from Johnson hurt any chance San Antonio had at a close win.
The Spurs fall to 0-2 on the roadtrip and will visit the Sacramento Kings (6-6) on Thursday.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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