Spurs and Blazers 11 game winning streak snapped but stays in the TOP 2 in the West

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Hey guys,

The Spurs and Blazers winning streak was snapped by 2 teams:

The Spurs feel the Thunder in OKC while the Blazers lose to the Phoenix Suns, but despite the streak snapped, they still hold on the TOP 2 Spots in the Western Conference

Here are the stories:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...0131127_SA@OKC


Thunder snap Spurs' 11-game winning streak
Nov. 27, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The shots weren't falling early for Kevin Durant and never fell for Russell Westbrook, so it was Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb who carried the Oklahoma City Thunder to their most impressive win of the season.

Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs' 11-game winning streak.

Jackson scored eight straight points for the Thunder during a surge early in the fourth quarter that put Oklahoma City ahead by 11 points. The Spurs rallied within three points before Jackson and Durant combined to score the Thunder's final 13 points and put the game away.

''We couldn't guard [Jackson] tonight,'' San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. ''He really helped them. He was basically the difference in the game. He did a great job.''

Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which is 7-0 at home, the franchise's best home start since 2004-05, when it was in Seattle. The Thunder have won five straight, their longest streak of the season.

The Thunder took control of a tight game with an 8-0 run in the third quarter and withstood a run by San Antonio midway through the fourth.

''I just attacked gaps and shots went down for all of us,'' Jackson said. ''We just kept trying to get in the lane and make the passes for the next man and just keep attacking the bigs off pick-and-rolls. I think we as a team, we did it pretty successfully tonight, but it all started defensively.''

Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists for San Antonio (13-2), which was seeking the best start in franchise history. The Spurs also started 13-1 during the 2010-11 season. Portland, which entered Wednesday on an 11-game winning streak, is the only other team to have beaten San Antonio this season.

During their previous eight games, the Spurs had beaten opponents by an average of 19.1 points, with all those wins by nine or more points. But fellow Western Conference power Oklahoma City (10-3) represented a step up in competition, and the Spurs lost for the third straight time at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

San Antonio shot 39.1 percent from the field and went 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range. The latter number particularly irked Popovich, who said his team didn't attack the basket as much as he'd like.

''I thought a pretty good percentage of ours tonight were hurried or frenetic at times,'' Popovich said. ''I didn't like our selection.''

Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks agreed with Popovich that the majority of the Spurs' 3-point attempts benefited the Thunder.

''I thought our defense was outstanding,'' Brooks said. ''I think in the last three or four games we've put a string of defensive efforts and defensive performances together we can continue to build on.

''Going into this game they'd won 11 in a row and were the hottest team in basketball and with the way they score they're a hard team to guard. I thought our guys did a good job with our length making them miss shots and I thought defense was the key tonight.''

Durant and Westbrook combined to shoot 6 of 24 in the first half - 1 of 9 from 3-point range - and the Spurs led 46-43 at halftime. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard went 6 of 12 from the field and had 13 first-half points for San Antonio.

With usual stalwarts Durant and Westbrook struggling, Ibaka picked up the slack early in the third quarter, scoring 10 straight points for Oklahoma City coming out of halftime. That seemed to wake up the Thunder and they went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead to that point at 59-52 on a dunk by Durant at the 5:08 mark.

Lamb hit a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer in the final 1:35 of the third quarter to extend the lead to 68-59 and Jackson's driving layup gave the Thunder a 78-67 lead with 8:47 left. It was the first double-digit advantage for either team.

That was Oklahoma City's last field goal for more than 4 1/2 minutes, allowing the Spurs to gain ground. Marco Belinelli's basket with 6:46 left pulled San Antonio within 79-76 but then the Spurs went cold as well, missing their next four shots.

Ibaka's putback with 4:12 left ended the Thunder's drought and Jackson followed with an 11-foot jumper to make it 83-77. Durant, who finished 10 of 23 from the field, then grabbed the rebound after a miss by Leonard and drove the length of the court for a basket while being fouled. He made the free throw to put Oklahoma City ahead 86-77 with 2:56 left.

Jackson ''was aggressive all night getting to the rim,'' Durant said. ''That's what he does. Nobody can stay in front of him.. He gave us a nice spark and those guys, him and Jeremy, Fish [Derek Fisher], those guys are really the reason we won the basketball game.''

Notes: Before the game, Popovich and Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti chatted briefly outside the Spurs' locker room. Presti was an assistant GM with the Spurs before taking the same job with the Thunder franchise in 2007.. Referee Monty McCutchen called Oklahoma City G Derek Fisher for three fouls on one San Antonio second-quarter possession. After an illegal screen call on the Spurs to end the possession, Fisher told McCutchen, `'That's terrible.'' McCutchen responded, `'Don't talk to me.''

Meanwhile....

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...131127_POR@PHO


Dragic, Suns end Blazers' 11-game win streak
Nov. 27, 2013

PHOENIX -- The good news for the Portland Trail Blazers is they only face Goran Dragic and the Phoenix Suns one more time. And that's not until spring.

Dragic scored 31 points, Channing Frye added 25 and the Suns used their up-tempo style to recover from a poor start and beat Portland 120-106 Wednesday night and snap the Blazers' 11-game winning streak.

Markieff Morris scored 19 and twin Marcus Morris 15 for the Suns, who wiped out a 16-point second-quarter deficit to hand the Blazers their first loss since Nov. 5 against Houston. Two of Portland's three defeats have come to the Suns, who shot 52 percent from the field behind the speedy Dragic, who was one point shy of his career-high and added 10 assists.

''I'm glad we don't have to play Phoenix until April,'' said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, whose team is 1-2 against the Suns and 12-1 against the rest of the league. ''After we got a lead they completely outplayed us. They ran, they rebounded, they played an excellent game. They have played us very well and we will see April 4 if anything changes.''

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and Damian Lillard scored 16 points for the Blazers, who had also won six straight on the road but couldn't keep up with the new-look Suns, who moved a game over .500.

''We already played those guys three times and in all those games, we were better or we were close,'' said Dragic, who hit 4 of 5 3-pointers. ''I don't know why. I think they're a good matchup for us. They want to play slow in the half court and we want to run. And that's to our advantage.''

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game that he wanted to push the pace, adding, `'We're not good when we hold the ball.'' But the Suns looked sluggish early and Portland looked poised to match the third-longest win streak in franchise history.

Then Dragic took over.

Playing without backcourt mate Eric Bledsoe (bruised shin) for a sixth straight game, Dragic fueled a 40-point second-quarter with a variety of 3-pointers, midrange jumpers and nifty passes for buckets on the fast break. Frye helped by heating up from the outside. Portland turned a 39-23 deficit into a 61-58 halftime lead.

''Goran has just been on a tear,'' Frye said. ''When he is feeling it like that you just give it to him and get the hell out of the way.''

Frye's 3 to start the second half was the beginning of a 10-0 spurt and he hit another 3 to start the fourth quarter as the Suns built a 97-78 lead.

''Every time we look at the tape, if we play half court we have problems,'' Dragic said. ''But when we run we got those easy, open 3s or easy layups. Everybody wants to play like that. It's really fun.''

It was no fun for the Blazers, who had another miserable visit to the desert.

It was Portland's 22nd loss in the past 26 trips to Phoenix, including a loss on opening night. Not even Bledsoe's continued absence could keep the surprising Suns from winning for the third time in four games.

After limping through the morning shootaround, Bledsoe had an MRI that Hornacek said `'didn't show anything besides what they knew already, which is a contusion.'' Bledsoe has been sidelined since colliding with teammate P.J. Tucker in practice Nov. 17.

The Blazers haven't had the same uncertainty, starting the same five players all 16 games. And Portland came out with much more energy early, racing to a commanding lead early in the second quarter behind Aldridge's play inside and ex-Sun Robin Lopez's work on the boards.

But the Blazers struggled to contain Dragic. After Lillard struggled to stay in front of him, Nicolas Batum took a turn on Dragic, who added five rebounds and four turnovers as Phoenix set a season-high in points.

''That's something special in the NBA to win that many games in a row,'' Aldridge said. ''We're definitely proud of it but we have to bounce back and not lose two in a row.''

Notes: Hornacek said they plan each game as if Bledsoe won't play so they'll be `'surprised'' when he does. `'I thought he'd miss one game or maybe two games. But he's got to be able to push off and if he can't then he doesn't play.'' ... The Blazers made only 7 of 19 3s after entering the game shooting 42 percent. But Stotts insisted before the game he believes they can continue to shoot well if his top five shooters take the bulk of the shots. ''It's not far-reaching to think that each one of those guys could shoot 40 percent or better on the season,'' he said. ''So is 42 percent sustainable? I think it is.''. Ex-Suns F Grant Hill attended the game. ... Blazers G Mo Williams (three points) returned after serving a one-game suspension for his role in a scuffle Saturday against Golden State.

credit: cbssports.com