NBA-Spurs stop Trail Blazers to extend home streak

March 17 (The Sports Xchange) - LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points apiece to lead five San Antonio players in double figures as the Spurs turned a tight game into a runaway with a dominating third quarter and beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-100 on Thursday to remain unbeaten at home. San Antonio led by two points at halftime but separated from the Trail Blazers in the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points and opening as much as a 19-point lead. Leonard, who was limited to six points in the first half when he took three shots, scored 11 points in the Spurs' uprising and the quarter ended with San Antonio holding a 95-78 advantage to make the final period all but academic. The Spurs (58-10) are 34-0 at the AT&T Center and have also won a franchise-best 43 straight regular-season games at home since a loss to Cleveland in March of last season. San Antonio's streak is the third-longest in NBA history, behind Chicago's 44-game regular-season home run in 1995-96 and the continuing streak by Golden State (50 games) and is second all-time in NBA history for the longest home winning streaks to start a season (37, set by the Bulls in 1995-96). Tony Parker added 18 points and a season-high 16 assists for San Antonio while reserve Patty Mills scored 17 points and Tim Duncan hit for 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Spurs. Portland was led by C.J McCollum's 26 points and Damian Lillard added 23 points for the Trail Blazers. Chris Kaman and Mason Plumlee scored 12 points apiece for Portland and Gerald Henderson added 10 points for Portland. The Trail Blazers (35-34) held a 28-23 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a driving layup by Lillard on Portland's final possession of the period. Lillard scored eight points as he played all 12 minutes of the quarter. The Trail Blazers did not commit a turnover in the first quarter and San Antonio had only one. The Spurs finally caught fire five minutes into the second quarter as reserve Boris Diaw had a basket and a free throw and Danny Green hit a 3-pointer and a layup after a steal to push San Antonio to a 38-35 lead. San Antonio stretched its advantage to 44-39 before Portland reeled off a 5-0 mini-run keyed by a swooping layup by Al-Farouq Aminu and a 3-pointer from McCollum that tied the game at 44. A pair of free throws by Aldridge with 14 seconds to play in the half were offset by two from Kaman with 2 seconds remaining that tied the game at 54. Mills was fouled by Lillard near half-court with 0.1 left, and Mills ensuing free throws gave San Antonio a 56-54 lead at intermission. McCollum led all scorers with 14 points at the half and Lillard had 10 for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge paced the Spurs with 13 points. San Antonio had just two offensive rebounds, two second-chance points and two turnovers in the first 24 minutes. San Antonio took charge in the first two minutes of the third quarter with a 10-0 run that included seven points from Aldridge and 3-pointer by Leonard, who also had a block on a jumper by Aminu in the run. The Trail Blazers never got closer than nine points in the fourth quarter. Portland has lost six of its past eight games and has dropped six in a row on the road. The Blazers, who were swept by San Antonio for the first time since the 2007-08 season, hold the sixth spot in the Western Conference playoff race with Houston and Dallas right behind them.