Jerryd Bayless, who began the season as the Blazers' 11th man, peppered the Spurs for a career-high 31 points, including a back-breaking 3-pointer that put Portland ahead 96-87 with 2:04 to go. It was Portland's second short-handed victory in as many nights, following an 85-81 triumph at Dallas.
Forget beating teams over .500, against whom the Spurs are now 2-10 this season. On Wednesday, they couldn't quite handle Portland's JV.
“This is the NBA,” Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “One guy goes down, another guy gets an opportunity.”