Taking on The Spurs
On their first attempt at clinching one of the Western Conference’s playoff spots, the San Antonio Spurs had one of their worst offensive games in franchise history.
The Spurs hope for a better performance in their second try Sunday when they look for their 13th straight win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made San Antonio -8.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 177 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 91% of bets for this game have been placed on San Antonio -8.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
San Antonio (52-24) is trailing the conference-leading New Orleans Hornets by 1 1/2 games – tying it with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs had a chance on Friday to join New Orleans and Los Angeles, which have already clinched a playoff spot in the tightly packed West, but they instead had an eight-game winning streak snapped with a 90-64 loss to Utah.
The 64 points matched a franchise low for San Antonio, which shot 36.4 percent from the field and scored only nine points in the fourth quarter.
Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were the only Spurs to score in double figures with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The 64 points matched their output in a loss to Cleveland in March 1997.
"When it’s good, I don’t care about history. And when it’s bad, I don’t care either," said Manu Ginobili, who had eight points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Spurs’ starters sat for most of the fourth quarter after Utah had taken control.
San Antonio had averaged 102.5 points during the winning streak, which was preceded by a season-high four-game losing streak. With six regular season games remaining, the Spurs cannot afford a similar slide given how close the top six teams in the conference are.
San Antonio can at least end some worries by clinching its 11th straight playoff berth on Sunday. The Spurs have won both games against the Trail Blazers (38-38) this season – each of which were at home.
It has won 12 straight over Portland and 18 of the last 19 meetings. The Spurs’ only loss during that stretch was a 107-99 defeat at the Rose Garden on Jan. 24, 2005.
The Blazers are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. They are coming off a 95-86 loss to Houston on Thursday.
Portland shot just 39.8 percent from the field in the loss as LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and Jarrett Jack added 19. Brandon Roy was out with a groin injury while Martell Webster missed the game after feeling dizzy and sick beforehand.
Webster, who is averaging 10.7 points in 75 games, was hospitalized Thursday and doctors diagnosed him with an irregular heartbeat. He will see the team’s cardiologist next week.
Roy is day-to-day, but he’s hoping to return on Sunday. He has missed the last four games and is averaging a team-high 19.3 points.
Although the Blazers have been eliminated from playoff contention, they are trying to finish with the team’s first winning record since 2002-03.
"We’re trying to build something here," Aldridge said.
Here are some top trends for today’s matchup:
-SAN ANTONIO is 7-3 against the spread versus PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
-SAN ANTONIO is 10-0 straight up against PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
-5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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