Game #78 | Young Blazers Top Spurs

Brandon Roy scored 26 points to lead the Blazers over the Spurs. // Photo courtesy Yahoo! Sports

San Antonio, Texas (FS.COM) — Brandon Roy walked out of the shower after what he called the biggest road win of his NBA career and proclaimed, “What’s our road record? We’re road warriors!”

Um, Brandon, it’s 19-21—but for the young Portland Trail Blazers, they can brag about this one.

Brandon Roy scored 26 points to lead his Portland Trail Blazers over the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.  The win marks their first time doing so since 2002.

With their win, the Blazers now move into a three way tie with the Spurs and the Rockets as they fight for the third best record in the West with just three games remaining in the season.

“We won at one of the toughest teams in the league, in April, and they needed a win,” Roy said. “So we got to use it if we want it to be something special.”

The slumping Spurs, who have lost four of six, blew a 19-point lead in the first half and surrendered the season series to Portland 3-1. Roger Mason had 18 point

Roger Mason

s as the Spurs lost for the first time since learning this week that Manu Ginobili will miss the playoffs because of an ankle injury.

Tim Duncan, bothered by aching knees since the All-Star break, scored four points in 24 minutes in his first back-to-back stint in nearly six weeks. He was put back in the game with 7:40 left with the Spurs down by seven, then was pulled after he appeared stiff while awkwardly reaching for a loose ball seconds later.

San Antonio this year have been holding Tim out of back-to-back games since March. He had four points in 24 minutes against the Blazers and didn’t look at all 100%.

Coach Gregg Poppovich talked to reporters after the game and this is what he said about Duncan;

“I didn’t like the way he (Duncan) moved on a loose ball, so I just pulled him,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He went tonight because he felt good. When I thought he didn’t, that’s when I decided to pull him.”

The youth of the Blazers showed in this game as well as many of the games that the Spurs have lost this year. San Antonio was up by as much as 19 but the Blazers came back and put on a run to cut it down at the half with a Steve Blake three point shot from half court at the buzzer.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points, and Joe Przybilla had 17 rebounds. It was the 50th win for Portland, a mark the Trail Blazers haven’t reached since 2002-03.

Greg Oden had this to say about his team reaching 50 wins;

“Getting 50 games, that’s a big goal,” Oden said. “We just want to keep on winning, trying to get home court for the playoffs.”

The Trail Blazers did it by slowly erasing a huge first-quarter deficit that had the game taking on the early look of a blowout.

Head coach Nate McMillan stated that his team wanted this game more, he also stated they played hard and came out with a win against a good team.

Notes | The Spurs are 18-16 without Ginobili in the lineup this season and 32-12 with him. … The Spurs promoted G Marcus Williams from their D-League team in Austin and waived Malik Hairston before the game. Williams, a former Arizona standout, averaged a triple-double in three games last week for the Toros. … Former Spurs great David Robinson watched his first game courtside since being elected to the Hall of Fame this week. The crowd treated him to an extended standing ovation.