Keita Bates-Diop racked up 25 points, with 10 of them in the decisive late-game stretch that helped propel the San Antonio Spurs to a 129-127 comeback victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday in the first-ever NBA game played in Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
The Trail Blazers trailed by nine points midway through the third quarter before sweeping to a two-point advantage at the end of the period. Portland was up 119-110 with 5:26 remaining but San Antonio (21-59) responded in the back-and-forth game, scoring the next 13 points as Bates-Diop produced eight of the Spurs' point in that surge.
Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie added 24 points each for the Spurs, with Zach Collins totaling 21 points and 10 rebounds and Tre Jones hitting for 18 points and dishing out 10 assists.
Kevin Knox II led the Trail Blazers (33-47) while Drew Eubanks had 23, and Trendon Watford and Jeenathan Williams added 16 points apiece. Portland was without injured starters Damian Lillard (calf) Jerami Grant (quadriceps), Jusuf Nurkic (knee) and Anfernee Simons (foot).
Both the Spurs and the Trail Blazers have been eliminated from postseason consideration and have two games each left in their seasons.
Trail Blazers led for the majority of the first quarter, going up by seven points after Knox's running layup at the 5:04 mark. San Antonio responded, surging to a 32-29 lead via a 12-2 run capped by Langford's layup with 3:03 to play in the period. Portland answered back and took a 37-32 advantage at the end of the period.
The Trail Blazers were still on top at 53-51 when Mays hit a pair of free throws with 5:11 to play in the second quarter. San Antonio then took charge, using an 11-3 run to take a 62-56 lead before assuming a 69-61 advantage at the break.
Champagnie led all scorers with 19 points before halftime, with Collins adding 12 and Bates-Diop scoring 10 for the Spurs. San Antonio had a 22-4 edge in second-chance points in the half.
Eubanks paced the Trail Blazers with 15 points at the half while Knox added 10 for Portland. The Trail Blazers were down by eight at intermission despite outshooting San Antonio 53.2 percent to 41.4 percent.
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