Nicolas Batum’s buzzer-beater lifts the Portland Trail Blazers over the San Antonio Spurs 98 -96
Nicolas Batum came up big in the final second to take home a 98- 96 victory for the Portland Trail Blazers over the San Antonio Spurs at the Rose Garden in Portland on Friday. Batum hit two free-throws and connected on an out-of-bounds alley-oop play as the clock wound down to hand the Spurs their second-straight loss.
All five of the starters scored in double-digits for the Blazers and their bench only contributed 15 points in the win. Batum added 21 points, while Andre Miller had 21 points and eight assists on 10-of-16 shooting from the field.
Gerald Wallace had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers.
The game tipped off with both teams feeling out the other defence. A driving layup by George Hill gave the Spurs a 28 -17 lead with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Portland countered with a 7- 0 run to cut the deficit down to four points heading into the second.
Manu Ginobili added seven straight-points for the Spurs early in the second quarter. It was a closely contested 12 minutes stretch that saw both teams vying for the advantage. In the end San Antonio took a narrow two point lead heading into the half-time break.
Portland kicked-off a 12 – 6 run to start the third quarter and led 59 -55 at the 7:33 mark. Richard Jefferson and Ginobili responded with a couple of shots to help the Spurs to regain the lead, but the Blazers quickly responded with an 11 – 3 run to hit back at the Spurs.
Portland was up 73 – 70 entering into the final period.
The first-half of the fourth belonged to the Spurs as they came out gunning for the basket. Gary Neal’s off-balance jump-shot with 5:36 left in the game gave the Spurs a 10 point advantage. It seemed like a done deal but the Blazers still had some fight left in them.
A 12 – 3 rally by the Blazers helped them find a way back into the game as they closed the gap to just one point with a little over two minutes left in the game. Tony Parker made a layup, and Ginobili hit one from downtown to put the Spurs back up by six.
Andre Miller then decimated the lead by making two quick layups, which were followed by some fourth quarter heroics by Frenchman, Nicolas Batum, to clinch the unlikely victory for the Blazers.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 points and dished out seven assists, while big-man Tiago Splitter went 5-of-5 from the field on his way to 11 points and seven rebounds.
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