SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 20 points to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-83 on Friday night and stay unbeaten at home.
Parker shook off a slow start as the Spurs (8-4) improved to 8-0 at home, their best start since the 2007-08 season when they won started 13-0. Portland (7-4), meanwhile, lost its second straight game and for only the second time in its last 10 games against San Antonio.
Tiago Splitter scored 14 points for the Spurs, and DeJuan Blair and Danny Green each added 13. Rookie Kawhi Leonard had 11.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 29 points. Raymond Felton had 13, and Wes Matthews and Gerald Wallace each had 12.
The Blazers, who lost Brandon Roy to retirement and Greg Oden to injury before the season, lost veteran center Marcus Camby in the loss.
Camby, the team’s leading rebounder and defensive star, went down with a sprained left ankle with 4:22 to play in the second quarter. After going up for a shot over Blair, Camby immediately went down and grabbed his ankle. Following a timeout, he was helped off the floor and didn’t return.
Parker hit only four of 12 shots through the first three quarters, but re-entered late with the Spurs struggling to close the game in the fourth. With 3:37 left, he scored the next 10 points for San Antonio, putting the Spurs up 95-78.
San Antonio’s bench outscored Portland’s 45-17. The Spurs hit 38 of 74 shots and outrebounded Portland 50-36.
San Antonio won despite having trouble holding on to the ball, turning it over 23 times. Duncan had five turnovers, and Parker and Gary Neal each had four.
The Spurs led 50-47 at halftime behind Green’s 11 points. Blair had nine points in the half and Neal scored seven. Aldridge had 16 points to lead all scorers in the first two quarters, and Matthews had 12.
Portland led 31-27 after the first quarter, thanks largely to 10 Spurs turnovers. It was a start that had to please Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who before the game emphasized the importance to the team getting off to quicker starts. Portland entered having trailed in seven of its 10 games, but three steals each from Wallace and Felton sparked the quick start.
Notes: Spurs rookie F Malcolm Thomas, a teammate of Leonard’s at San Diego State, played his first NBA game. He went scoreless in two minutes. … Duncan scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. He has 22,805 career points, eight behind Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA career list. … The Blazers haven’t allowed the Spurs to reach 100 points in 12 games. The last time San Antonio reached the mark was Dec. 2, 2007. … Neal had a large bandage on the top of his head after having to get staples to close a gash. He was hurt when he bumped his head on a medicine cabinet at his house.
