SAN ANTONIO — Portland Trail Blazers (2-1) vs. Spurs (2-0)
When, where: Monday, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center
Last season: Series tied 2-2
All-time series record: Spurs lead 86-84
Last meeting: Spurs 108, Blazers 103, March 16, AT&T Center
Blazers' last game: Beat Dallas Mavericks 121-119, Sunday, Dallas
Spurs' last game: Beat Washington Wizards 124-122, Saturday, AT&T Center
Blazers' injury/inactive report: Not yet submitted.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Not yet submitted.
Notable: Monday night's game will be the first of four in a row against Western Conference opponents for the Spurs. After playing Portland, the Silver and Black face the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back games Thursday and Friday, and host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Portland opened the season with a loss at home to Denver before hitting the road for a four-game trip. The Spurs are catching the Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back. After opening the road trip with a victory against Sacramento on Friday, the Blazers slipped past the Mavericks 121-119 on Sunday night in Dallas. Portland caps the four-game trip in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Former Spurs forward Pau Gasol, who was released by San Antonio in March and subsequently signed with Milwaukee, is now with Portland. The Blazers signed Gasol in July, but he's been unable to play because of a foot injury.
GAME PREVIEW
After squeezing out hard-fought victories against average Eastern Conference opponents in their first two games of the season, the Spurs start swimming in deeper water this week.
The Silver and Black figure to know a lot more about themselves after facing four of the best teams in the league, all from the West, a seven-day stretch.
The Silver and Black have beaten the New York Knicks 120-111 and Washington Wizards 124-122 — two teams expected to finish in the bottom half of the East this season.
The Spurs host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday in the first of four games in a seven-day stretch. San Antonio plays the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors on the road in its first back-to-back of the season Wednesday and Thursday, and squares off against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
"Every game in the West is definitely going to be tough," said Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan, who scored the winning basket in Saturday night's nail-biter against the Wizards. "That is one thing I love and appreciate about the West. There are no nights off. You have to be ready every single night, no matter who you are playing against."
After scoring only 13 points in the season opener, DeRozan finished with 26 against the Wizards on Saturday and scored the game-winning basket on a driving layup with 5.5 seconds left. DeRozan carried the Spurs in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and dishing out two assists.
"It says a lot, especially early on," DeRozan said of the narrow victory. "I remember last year we were figuring out so much. This time around, we are just trying to pull it together as fast as possible. Moments like this can't do anything but make us better."
With mercurial point guard Dejounte Murray on a minutes restriction as he comes back from a knee injury that sidelined him all of last season, it's fallen on DeRozan to be the team's primary playmaker down the stretch. DeRozan handled the same job last season, his first with San Antonio, after Murray went down.
"I tell him all the time, 'We need you to take over at all times,'" Murray said. "Not just when we really, really need it, but he did his thing tonight. None of us were shocked or surprised. That's DeMar for you, and we just want him to keep it up."
Murray is learning to live with the minute restriction team doctors imposed on him when he returned to the court.
"Whatever I have to do to make the team win or help the team win," Murray said. "I was upset because of the minute restriction, but you have to be healthy. I trust them. They have been doing this a long time, so like I said, I trust them."
"They know what they are doing. My knee feels good. We are still working at it. Just because I'm healthy to play does not mean I'm not staying on top of it."
Murray played only five minutes in the fourth quarter, but he was on the floor for the Wizards' final possession with 5.5 seconds left. Bradley Beal drove the lane, but Derrick White and Murray slammed the door shut. White was credited with a block of Beal's layup.
Murray scored his final basket on a driving layup to cut Washington's lead to 109-107 with 50 left, but Popovich pulled him 42 seconds later.
"Yeah, I mean, he made a great play there in the fourth quarter and being the smart coach, I immediately took him out of the game," Popovich said. "But I had to. He's got a minute restriction and we put him back in because we had five seconds left, so I didn't think that was going to hurt it much. I hated taking him out, for sure."
Murray played 23 minutes, scoring 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting and adding a team-high 10 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals.
Popovich was asked how long Murray's minute restriction will last.
"That's a good question," Popovich said. "I'm thinking maybe after about 10 games, he will get up (to) five or six (more) minutes, something like that. They'll tell me."
DeRozan was a four-time All-Star in nine seasons with Toronto before being traded to San Antonio in the blockbuster deal that sent disgruntled All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors.
DeRozan was at the top of his game in the fourth quarter against Washington, hitting jumpers and makes strong drives to the basket.
"I love the moments," DeRozan said of the fourth quarter. "I don't think about previous missed three-pointers or mistakes. It's a different type of game in the last five to six minutes. When the game is close, you have to think that way."
DeRozan, who finished 11 of 24 from the field, also had four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge just missed a double-double, scoring a game-high 27 points and adding nine rebounds.
San Antonio's young backcourt will be tested by high-scoring Portland guards Damon Lillard and CJ McCollum, who have averaged 31.7 and 22 points, respectively, in the Blazers first three games.
"We are going to figure it out as a team," Murray said, when asked about the matchup against Lillard and McCollum. "It's not just one guy. They have a great team over there, CJ McCollum, all the way around, So, we have to get together as a group and whatever our coaches' game plan is, we have to go out and execute."
Popovich has said the team's defense will be a "work in progress" well into the season. He hasn't seen anything in the first two games that would change his opinion.
"We've played two games, so I'm not happy about much after two games, and I'm concerned about everything, just like any coach, at any level, in any sport," Popovich said.