(Sports Network) - Now that the novelty of Lin-sanity has simmered down a bit,
perhaps the San Antonio Spurs can garner some much-needed attention.
The Spurs have jingled their way to an 11-game winning streak and pushed their
mark on the annual Rodeo Road Trip to 7-0 with last night's 106-102 win
against the Utah Jazz. They will try to keep up the torrid pace Tuesday
against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.
Richard Jefferson stepped out of obscurity in the win at Salt Lake City and
buried a big three-pointer with 6.5 seconds remaining. It was only his second
field goal of the night and it proved to be a big one. Tony Parker continued
his solid season with 23 points and 11 assists, while Tim Duncan and Matt
Bonner both finished with 20 points for the Spurs, who are unbeaten in their
last eight road games and 10-8 as the visitor.
"It's great for us, but there is absolutely no focus on it," Duncan said of
the winning streak. "We're not even thinking about it. We're going to play it
a game at a time -- however it works, it works. We've had a good stretch here.
Now we've got a couple more games to end strong."
San Antonio learned earlier in the day that guard Manu Ginobili (oblique) and
forward Tiago Splitter (calf) were expected to miss the next two weeks with
injuries. The team is on its longest overall winning streak since a 12-game
run from Nov. 1 - 24, 2010. The Spurs own an impressive 17-7 mark against the
West and are 14-5 during a stretch of 16 of 21 games on the road.
The Spurs, who haven't lost as the guest since Jan. 29 in Dallas, last won
nine in a row on the road from Jan. 16-Feb. 12, 2006 and will close out the
journey Thursday at Denver.
Portland is coming off Monday's 103-92 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers at
Staples Center, as LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum both scored 18 points
to lead the Blazers, who got 15 points from reserve Jamal Crawford. Marcus
Camby scored five points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
"We didn't come out ready to play. I thought we started the All-Star break
early," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said.
The Blazers announced Monday that center Greg Oden will miss the remainder of
the season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee. This was the
fifth surgery the 7-foot Oden has endured since he was taken by the Blazers
with the first pick in the 2007 draft.
Portland is 12-5 at home this season and ended a four-game slide in Rip City
with a 97-77 win versus Atlanta on Saturday. It will play four of the next
five games as the host.
The Trail Blazers dropped a 99-83 decision at San Antonio on Jan. 13 this
season, but have won eight of the past 10 in this series. The Spurs are
winless in six straight trips to the Rose City.
The Sports Network