SAN ANTONIO – DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 36 points to help San Antonio snap a rough two-game losing skid and beat Portland 131-118 at the AT&T Center on Sunday night.
The Spurs looked like a completely different team from the one that lost the two previous games by 30 plus points. They finally took it to another team.
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"Tonight was a good win, we needed it," said LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aldridge added 29 points, and four other Spurs players scored in double figures.
Aldridge and DeRozan combined for 65 of the 131 to help the Spurs improve to 11-12 on the season.
"It makes the whole team go when we are both going, and we're taking most of the shots. Guys are just playing off of us. I think it just makes everyone else's job easier," Aldridge said.
While Aldridge started quick with 12 points in the first quarter and 16 in the half, DeRozan started slow, 10 in the half on 3 of 9 shooting. He picked it up in the third quarter.
Over the final 4:52, DeRozan scored 18 points, including a personal 15-0 run. He added another eight in the fourth quarter when the Spurs finally pulled away.
"I wanted to be more aggressive and put the pressure on them and that is what I did," DeRozan said.
"Those two guys are great offensive players and they got on track tonight and the other guys made three's," said Terry Stotts, Blazers head coach.
Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 37 points while C.J. McCollum added 24.
After the two previous Spurs losses, Patty Mills said it was embarrassing but that the team would stick together and that is exactly what they did, proving what can happen when they play a solid game at both ends of the floor.
"First and foremost I think we just played with a lot more confidence, and life and energy, and juice that we hadn't had the last few games," said Mills who scored 15 off the bench.
"I just told the guys, go out there and play relaxed, don't think too much. Just go out there, be relaxed, play, have fun with it and that's what did tonight," DeRozan said.
Now the Spurs will attempt to take that same attitude on the road for road games at Utah on Tuesday and the LA Lakers on Wednesday.