Portland Newspaper Accounts - Spurs v. Blazers

[Solid D]

http://www.oregonlive.com/sportsflash/blazers/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1104476040261730.xml&storylist=orblazers

Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 80
12/30/2004, 11:38 p.m. PT
The Associated Press

http://olivessf.live.advance.net/images/blazers/stoudamire-123004.jpg

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs beat the Trail Blazers in so many ways, Portland coach Maurice Cheeks stopped counting.

"They kicked us from start to finish," Cheeks said. "From tip-off until the end of the game."

Tim Duncan had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs and Tony Parker added 18 points in their 114-80 rout on Thursday night.

San Antonio has won four straight and seven of its last eight, but this victory stood out.

"It was one of our best games all year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We're not this good though and Portland is not that bad. That's just what happens when someone is playing very good and somebody is not playing well."

Darius Miles had 17 points for the Blazers in their most lopsided loss of the season. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Van Exel added 12 points for Portland.

Parker, coming off a season-high 29 points against Phoenix, scored 15 in the first half. Portland's guards struggled to keep up with Parker, especially 33-year-old Van Exel, who has bad knees and has said he intends to retire at the end of the season.

Parker came into the game averaging 22.8 points on 59 percent shooting in his last five contests, helping San Antonio (24-6) move closer to league-leading Phoenix (25-4).

San Antonio had six players in double figures, including rookie Beno Udrih, who had 12 points and 10 assists. The Spurs had more assists (34) than the Blazers had field goals (30).

"We're a very unselfish team," Parker said. "We always try to find the guy who is wide open. That's how we play."

The Blazers had no answer for Duncan inside, especially after center Theo Ratliff left the game with a sore shoulder. Portland was outrebounded 49-39 and outscored 62-42 in the paint.

Duncan and Rasho Nesterovic all but shut down Zach Randolph, Portland's leading scorer and rebounder, holding him to 10 points and six rebounds.

Portland made only one of its first nine shots while Parker scored nine early points to help San Antonio open up a 17-2 lead. Portland rallied, scoring 12 unanswered points late in the first quarter, but Parker got the Spurs running again and pushed the lead to 40-25 midway through the second. San Antonio made 14 of 21 shots in the second quarter and led 57-36 by halftime.

"From one to 12, whoever stepped onto the floor didn't have anything tonight," Cheeks said. "There's no explaining the effort tonight."

Abdur-Rahim returned to the Blazers after sitting out six games with an elbow injury, playing 31 minutes with Randolph on the bench for long stretches.

Spurs guard Brent Barry scored 15 points while starting in place of Manu Ginobili, who sat out with a strained neck.

Notes:@ Portland's previous worst loss was a 112-88 defeat against Cleveland on Dec. 15. ... The Spurs swept the four-game series from Portland last season.

[Kori Ellis]

The Spurs had more assists (34) than the Blazers had field goals (30).

That's an awesome stat. I know the Spurs are a lot better than the Blazers, but San Antonio also caught them on a very bad night.

[Solid D]

Here's another one from The Columbian

http://www.pdxguide.com/sports/blazernotebook.html

Little good to report from Blazers' defeat

Wednesday, December 31, 2004

By ANDREW SELIGMAN, Columbian staff writer

PORTLAND For those looking for some positive news from the world of the Trail Blazers following Thursday's 114-80 pummeling by San Antonio, here it is: Shareef Abdur-Rahim played.

As for the game ... um ... well ... it ended. And that was the best thing that happened to the Blazers after the opening tip.

They played terribly; the Spurs played well, like a championship contender. That's the short version.

The longer version is the Spurs held the Blazers to 30-of-76 shooting, that they jumped out to a huge lead at the beginning, that they did not seem to miss the injured Manu Ginobili (strained neck), and that Portland was impatient on offense most of the game.

It was so bad that coach Maurice Cheeks called it "probably the worst game since I've been here."

There was no argument in the locker room, either.

"It's in the top three since I've been here," said guard Nick Van Exel, an off-season acquisition.

In some ways, this resembled Monday's 111-104 loss to Philadelphia. The Blazers did not adjust once the defense took away the first option. Meanwhile, the Spurs were patient, moved the ball around.

Tim Duncan led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Tony Parker scored 18 and drove by Van Exel and, during a brief second-quarter stint, Sebastian Telfair at will. Damon Stoudamire fared better and helped the Blazers make a run late in the first quarter.

Portland missed eight of its first nine shots as San Antonio grabbed a 17-2 lead. In the process, the Blazers used a full timeout and a 20-second one, and for a while, it looked like they found one.

Stoudamire, Abdur-Rahim and Ruben Patterson checked in, the energy picked up, the transition game got going and the gap dwindled. A 17-2 deficit melted down to 21-14 at the end of the quarter.

It got down to 25-20 early in the second after Stoudamire dribbled behind his back in traffic and hit Darius Miles for dunk, but the game quickly turned ugly on the Blazers.

Brent Barry hit a three and the Spurs' lead kept growing from there. It was 57-36 at halftime, as the Blazers (13-14) simply collapsed.

"There are a lot of people not paying attention," guard Derek Anderson said. "It's affecting our game. We've addressed it. Guys have to start (paying attention) more. ... If you get four guys out there doing one thing and one guy's not, we're not focused as a team."

It didn't help that Theo Ratliff went to the locker room after the first quarter with bursitis in his left shoulder and stayed there the rest of the night, but his absence doesn't explain the stagnation on offense. Nor does it explain the effort.

There was no flow, no rhythm and no hustle.

This is the type of game it was for the Blazers: With about two minutes left in the half, San Antonio's Rasho Nesterovic missed a foul-line jumper, the ball landed. Patterson watched as Parker ran around him, scooped up the ball and laid it in to make it 55-32.

Less than a minute later, a fan in the second row yelled to Cheeks, "Hey Mo, where's the plan?"

The Blazers looked lost. And, the return of Abdur-Rahim notwithstanding, it was that type of night.

Zach Randolph had one of his worst games, with 10 points and six rebounds, and Abdur-Rahim looked like someone who had missed six games with a hyperextended right elbow. He was rusty. He hit 5 of 15 shots, scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Abdur-Rahim underwent an MRI Tuesday and a CAT scan Wednesday, and the tests showed no bone fractures or tears to any ligaments or cartilage. They did reveal several loose particles, but it was not clear how long they had been there and if they were the source of pain. Abdur-Rahim also received a cortisone shot on Wednesday.

"I feel a little bit better after that, but ... it's going to take a few days to feel the total affect," he said.

Surgery to remove those fragments is not planned, but he did leave the door slightly ajar for that at the end of the season.

Abdur-Rahim will continue to treat the elbow with ice and lasers, but more than anything else, time is needed. He had seen improvement before the MRI, but the test results provided some psychological relief.

"I feel good that there's nothing structurally wrong," Abdur-Rahim said. "After that, it's just (a matter of) what I feel like I can do."

Abdur-Rahim injured the elbow at Utah Dec. 10, but played two more games after that before waking up in pain in Cleveland on Dec. 15. He sat out that night against the Cavaliers and missed five more games.

"I'm not 100 percent," Abdur-Rahim said. "There are a lot of guys who are not 100 percent. I think I can help. I can contribute. Before, I felt like I was going to not be effective and hurt the team. We'll see what happens."

What happened to the Blazers Thursday was, simply, ugly.

It certainly wasn't the first blowout Cheeks, in his fourth season, has experienced, and it probably won't be the last. But he considered it the worst.

"I don't know why," Cheeks said. "This bothers me. ... This one just bothers me."

[Solid D]

And from Jason Quick with The Oregonian...

"It was like the varsity versus the J.V.,"

Blazers no match for Spurs
The Trail Blazers are off to their worst home start in seven seasons as they lose 114-80 to the Spurs
Friday, December 31, 2004
JASON QUICK
The division between the Western Conference's upper class and the Trail Blazers was made painfully clear again Thursday night when a very good San Antonio Spurs team thumped the Blazers 114-80 at the Rose Garden.


It was the second consecutive home loss for the Blazers (13-14), who are off to their worst home start (7-5) in seven seasons. Thursday's 34-point loss added to a list of bad home defeats that includes a 22-point loss to Phoenix and an 19-point loss to Memphis.

"This was the worst game since I have been here," coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It was a kicking from start to finish."

The Spurs (24-6) were unmerciful in a methodical dismantling, which -- as usual -- was predicated more on substance than style. The Spurs had more assists (34) than the Blazers had baskets (30), and they outrebounded the Blazers 49-39.

"It was like the varsity versus the J.V.," Blazers guard Nick Van Exel said. "You saw a team that is going for a championship against a team that is trying to get in the playoffs. And it was a huge gap."

Tim Duncan had 19 points and nine rebounds, and another year has passed without the Blazers having an answer for speedy guard Tony Parker, who this time hurt the Blazers with 18 points and four assists. Former Oregon State star Brent Barry, who started in place of injured Manu Ginobili, added 15 points and six rebounds.

"We had a good night, and they had a bad night," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Perhaps the Blazers should have known it was an off night when center Joel Przybilla stumbled through his pregame greeting to the fans, wishing them a "Happy Christmas . . . er Merry New Year" before finally waving his hand and giving up, his face red, as his teammates laughed. ( :lol )

It was the last time a Blazers player smiled all night.

The Blazers were scoreless on their first seven possessions, helping San Antonio race to a 17-2 lead. The Blazers were sloppy (Zach Randolph had a traveling violation and had a pass go between his hands), off target (Theo Ratliff missed two free throws and an easy 3-footer off a fast break) and generally out of synch (Damon Stoudamire and Ruben Patterson botched a dribble-handoff that resulted in a Spurs fast-break dunk).

Meanwhile, the Spurs were a calm and collected unit that used patience and precision to dissect the Blazers' defense. As the Spurs went about their business, Cheeks frantically substituted players in an attempt to counteract the Spurs' combination of size and speed. Cheeks tried Sebastian Telfair for 1:06 and Richie Frahm for 21 seconds . . . all while shuttling Patterson, Przybilla and Stoudamire in and out of the lineup.

Nothing worked, however, and the Spurs led 57-36 at halftime. In the second half, the Blazers got only as close as 14.

"We didn't have anything from (player) one to 12," Cheeks said. "From the beginning we didn't put up the effort and it disturbs me. It looks as if we just didn't have anything."

The Blazers' night was typified by six airballs, an inbound violation by Darius Miles (who stepped over the line while passing to Van Exel) and a first-half rebound opportunity when three Blazers released downcourt, allowing the ball to be scooped up by Parker at the free throw line. Parker converted the rebound into a layup, setting off the first of many boos that were heard throughout the night.

If there were any positives to the night, they were that Miles (17 points, six rebounds) continues to emerge as the most exciting and efficient Blazers player and that Shareef Abdur-Rahim returned after missing six games with an elbow injury. Abdur-Rahim played 31 minutes off the bench and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

But the Blazers lost Ratliff to a shoulder injury in the first quarter, and a defense that is supposed to be the anchor of this team was shredded for the second consecutive game. In the past two home games, the Blazers have allowed an average of 112.5 points as Philadelphia shot 44.6 percent and the Spurs shot 54.0 percent.

Ratliff appeared to hurt his left shoulder while falling at midcourt late in the first quarter. He left the game with 3:36 remaining and did not return. He is scheduled to have a magnetic resonance imaging test on the shoulder today.

The Blazers closed December with a 5-8 record for the month, the third time in four seasons under Cheeks that the Blazers have had a losing December.

"I'm just trying to stay positive and stay upbeat, and I hope everybody else does," Van Exel said. "The easiest thing for us to do is to give up, but I don't think we will."

Jason Quick: 503-221-4372; [email protected]

[Sense]

Have you guys noticed, that the Spurs are actually getting recognized? We are no longer the most UNDERRATTED TEAM IN THE NBA!!!

How did this happen?

Thanks to Kobe...

Thanks Kobe, for actually ruining your career.

People actually woke up from the "Lakers" and now see the Spurs as the best team in the NBA with no one right behind them.

AHh, this is nice, and the Spurs fans are actually enjoying it.

[ShoogarBear]

Dec. 30, Portland, Ore: The Spurs went into the Rose Garden and routed the Trail Blazers, 114-80. What makes this so eventful? It marked the fifth straight time the Spurs played the Trail Blazers and never trailed. That's what you call dominance. The last time Portland led the Spurs in a game was April 9, 2003, with 3:58 left in the first quarter. One second later, Malik Rose tied the game at 11-11 on a dunk off a feed from Stephen Jackson. After Thursday night's bludgeoning, the Spurs have now gone 279 minutes 57 seconds without trailing the Trail Blazers.

Link (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2005/01/02/brown_red_write_and_stew?pg=3)

[T Park]

^^^ thats just staggering.

I mean, its due to NOT keep going, like the winning streak VS Utah.

You know its gonna end, you dont want it to, but, damn, its just unreal.

[Rick Von Braun]

That stat is hilarious. I wonder what tlongII has to say about that :lol

[ZStomp]

Have you guys noticed, that the Spurs are actually getting recognized? We are no longer the most UNDERRATTED TEAM IN THE NBA!!!

How did this happen?

Thanks to Kobe...

Thanks Kobe, for actually ruining your career.

People actually woke up from the "Lakers" and now see the Spurs as the best team in the NBA with no one right behind them.

AHh, this is nice, and the Spurs fans are actually enjoying it.


I think the Lakers still get more attention than the Spurs. But I don't care. As long as I'm able to watch the Spurs-- all is good. I could care less if the Spurs are thought of as the best team of the league. Or the worst. Or if articles are written by them or not.

Who cares.

Play ball.