NBA Saturday: Thunder ace road test in San Antonio

Here’s a roundup of a hectic day in the NBA.

Portland took the lead early in the second half, but lost it to New Orleans with three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.. The Trail Blazers played tough defense, and Damian Lillard hit a three-pointer with 1:27 left that gave Portland their final lead. New Orleans had two three-point shot attempts that would have tied the game with less than five seconds left, but ultimately fell to Portland at the Moda Center.

The Spurs pushed back in the third quarter but couldn’t keep up as Russell Westbrook took over for the Thunder and pushed the lead to 85-76 at the end of the fourth.

San Antonio would pull within three points early in the fourth quarter, but a strong showing from the Thunder rotation players kept the Spurs at bay. Rookie big man Stephen Adams had a minimal night in the box score, tallying four points, six rebounds and two blocks but hustled on every major play to keep Oklahoma City ahead.

With the injury to Lin and now Beverley, Houston’s guard rotation has become dangerously thin. James Harden sat out Saturday night’s game due to a sore ankle.

Beverley sits on the Houston bench with his hand wrapped against the Pistons Saturday night.

Hugo the Hornet! Catch the fever!

Check out the introduction video for the new theme. It’s actually quite scary.

“Staying behind them [on the depth chart] helped me out a lot,” Favors said of Jefferson and Millsap to Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. “I wouldn’t be the player that I am right now if I didn’t play behind those two.”

When Utah acquired Favors and Kanter, it was the first signal of a rebuilding effort. The Jazz knew a team built around Jefferson and Millsap could only be so good, but the new players they brought in were too raw to handle things immediately. Instead, Utah kept the veterans, holding off the complete rebuild while the younger guys learned.

If Woodson hoped to coax some extra energy out of his roster by holing them up in a hotel -- with a curfew, no less -- prior to Saturday’s early start, it didn’t seem to work. The Grizzlies came out and took a 17-8 lead roughly eight minutes into the game, consistently dominating in the paint even against New York’s biggest lineups.

Really, the numbers say it all in this one. Memphis held a 56-29 advantage on the boards while outscoring their opponents 60-28 in the paint. The Knicks only committed seven turnovers, but their inability to corral rebounds allowed Memphis enough extra opportunities to take more shots despite having nine more giveaways.