Beyond the Box Score: Ginobli Writes NBA History but McCollum wins the game for Portland in Thriller

According to Elias, Manu Ginobli became the first player in NBA history to record multiple 20+ point performances off the bench at age 40 or older. One game after recording 21 against the Suns, Ginobli finished with 26 on Sunday night, but CJ McCollum drained a floater with 5.9 seconds left in regulation for the 111-110 thrilling victory in a meeting with two of the most injured teams in the NBA. Rudy Gay, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green were all out for the Spurs, while Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman, and Meyers Leonard were all out for Portland.

OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

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THE BASICS

• Spread before tip-off:POR -1.5
• Score:San Antonio Spurs 110, Portland Trailblazers 111
• Records:Spurs (27-14)   |   Trailblazers (21-18)
• Date:Sunday, Jan. 7 | 8:00 p.m. CST tip-off
• Location:Moda Center | Portland, OR
• Attendance:19,393
• Series:San Antonio Spurs lead the all-time series 98-87 (84-81 regular season, 14-6playoffs)
• Referees:Haywoode Workman, John Goble, Tyler Ford
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TURNING POINT:

Holding a slim five-point advantage at the break, a 10-5 run early on in the third quarter by San Antonio helped open the game up just a tad. Scoring 23 points in the final 7:00 of the third quarter, and ending the quarter on a 23-13 run tied this contest up at 80-all with just 12 minutes left to be played. Maurice Harkless’ 25-foot three-pointer gave Portland its biggest lead of the fourth, but a quick 6-0 run by the Spurs brought them within one point with just under five minutes to go. Back-to-back trifectas by Ginobli just 35 seconds apart gave San Antonio a three-point edge with 2:13 to go. Soon later, a 4-0 run by the Trailblazers gave Portland a one-point lead.  After getting fouled, Kyle Anderson hit both attempts at the charity stripe for a one-point Spurs advantage.  C.J. McCollum managed to hit a tough floater with 5.9 left for the eventual 111-110 game-winner.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• In the loss, the Spurs shot 49.4 percent (40-for-81) from the floor, compared to Portland’s even better 48-of-92 (52.2 percent) from the floor in the victory.
• San Antonio recorded an 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) mark from three and went 19-of-26 (73.1 percent) from the charity stripe. The Trailblazers, meanwhile, went 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from beyond-the-arc and went a decent 7-of-10 from the foul line (70.0 percent).
• Despite committing five more turnovers than Portland, the Spurs outrebounded the Trailblazers by four (42-38), and also tallied seven more assists (26-19).
• Just three Spurs starters registered double-digit scoring performances, but all three combined for 56 points.

 NOTABLES:

• Aldridge, a five-time, and potentially six-time, NBA All-Star, recorded a game-high 30 points and a game-high 14 boards; he has reached double-figure scoring performances in every game played in this season and he’s only missed two games (rest).
• Including the game-winner, McCollum led the way for Portland; totaling 25 points on 11-of-24 from the floor and seven assists; Napier also recorded seven assists.
• As mentioned above, Ginobli finished with 26 points, including six trifectas for San Antonio.
• Spurs suffer first loss on the season when scoring 110+ points (7-1).
• With the loss, San Antonio currently trails the Houston Rockets by 1.5 games for tops in the 2017-18 southwest divisional standings.
• The Spurs have surpassed the 100-point plateau four straight games (2-2).

UP NEXT:

• San Antonio stays on the west coast but heads south for a meeting in Sacramento California. The Spurs tip-off at 9:00 PM CT Monday, January 8^thwith a showdown vs the Sacramento Kings.

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