San Antonio young stars, Portland Trail Blazers win their respective preseason games – NBA Roundup
San Antonio Spurs Vs Atlanta Hawks
The San Antonio Spurs young guns stepped up and defeated the Atlanta Hawks in their preseason opener here on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center. On a night when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rested the team core in Tim Duncan, Manu
Ginobili and Tony Parker, the Spurs rising stars took care of business and after a closely fought three quarters, took the advantage in the final period to escape with a 101-99 victory. Josh Powell scored a team high 14 points, going 6 of 7 from the field
and Gary Neal added 12 points and 5 assists. Nando de Colo finished with 11 points and 9 assists, while Eddy Curry had 11 points and 8 rebounds for the night. All in all, 6 Spurs players finished in double digit figures.
The first half was hotly contested, with both teams finding their rhythm early on. The Spurs led 28-27 at the end of the first period, and 55-53 at halftime. Atlanta came back in the third period and managed to take the lead, finishing
the third period leading 73-71. The Spurs played well in the final quarter and at one point, had taken back a 93-85 lead. However, Mike Scott nailed a three pointer with 4 seconds left in the game to tie the game at 99 for Atlanta. Nando de Colo then stepped
up for the Spurs and hit a buzzer beating jumper that got the Spurs the victory. Damion James scored 11 points and 8 rebounds, while Louis Williams added 10 points to the team tally. Keith Benson and Jeff Teague both came off the bench to score 10 points each
and Mike Scott finished with 11 points for Atlanta.
Los Angeles Lakers Vs Portland Trail Blazers
The Los Angeles Lakers convincingly lost their second consecutive preseason game, being defeated 75-93 by the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers played without Kobe Bryant, who was rested for the game, and Jordan Hill who was sidelined
with a back injury. Portland dominated the Lakers in the 2nd half, outscoring them 49-31 to seal the fate of the game. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, going 4 of 12 from the field. Damian Lillard was outstanding for the
night, finishing with 14 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Wesley Matthews scored 10 points while Nicolas Batum added 12 points.
Portland led 25-21 at the close of the first period, but the Lakers evened the game in the second period by outscoring the Blazers 23-19 and tying the game at 44. The Blazers, however, came alive on both ends of the floor in the
second half, outscoring the Lakers 29-18 in the third period and then adding insult to injury by restricting the Lakers to only 13 points in the final period, while scoring 20 themselves to pick up a comfortable victory in the end. The Blazers shot much better
than the Lakers, who were 38 percent from the field and a dismal 2 of 16 from the distance. Portland also had a 48-38 advantage in rebounds. Steve Nash was the leading scorer for the Lakers, finishing the game with 13 points and 4 assists. Metta World Peace
added 12 points and 5 rebounds, while Devin Ebanks came off the bench to add 10 points to the team tally.
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