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SAN ANTONIO -- Portland coach Terry Stotts is running out of adjectives and analogies to describe the San Antonio Spurs dominance in the second quarter. . Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points, Tony Parker had 16 points and 10 assists, and San Antonio rolled to a 114-97 victory over the Trail Blazers on Thursday night for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. After being struck by a "tidal wave" during the second quarter of the opener, Portland took on even more water in Game 2. "The onslaught at the beginning of the second quarter was obviously the turning point in the game," Stotts said. Boris Diaw scored six straight points to ignite a 23-8 run that gave San Antonio a 54-36 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the first half. The Spurs outscored the Trail Blazers 41-25 in the second quarter, raising their advantage to 77-48 in that period in winning the first two games of the best-of-seven series convincingly. Nicolas Batum scored 21 points for the Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard had 19 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the Trail Blazers All-Star duo put up 43 shots. Aldridge was 6 for 23, missing back-to-back dunks in the second quarter. "We missed a lot of shots," Aldridge said. "I definitely wasnt in a good rhythm tonight. I missed two dunks and four or five layups, so if those shots go in, then the whole game is different." The Trail Blazers host Game 3 on Saturday night. Manu Ginobili added 16 points, Marco Belinelli scored 13 and Diaw had 12 as San Antonios reserves outscored Portlands 50-19. Making matters worse for the Trail Blazers, reserve Mo Williams was limited to 9 minutes due to a groin injury. He finished with four points. "Our bench is coming alive," Parker said. "They had a hard first round. They had a hard time against Dallas, but the last two games the bench is playing well." The Trail Blazers, who found a snake in their locker room before the game, had a much better start than in Game 1. Batums 3-pointer gave Portland its first lead of series at 7-4 with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter. It lasted for 16 seconds before Leonards 3 tied it. San Antonio soon began using the quicker pace to force turnovers and find open shooters. The Spurs had 17 fast-break points in the first half compared to two by the Trail Blazers. Wesley Matthews was clearly frustrated, taking his mouthpiece out and looking upward in frustration before glaring at his teammates. Matthews responded by scoring 10 straight points in the third quarter while San Antonio went scoreless for 4 minutes, pulling Portland within 81-69 with 2 minutes remaining in the third. After losing 116-92 in the opener, Portland was sparked by greater activity by Robin Lopez, who had six rebounds and a blocked shot in the opening six minutes. He struggled once Diaw entered the game. Portland did not allow any fast-break points in the second half, closing within 10 points midway through the final quarter. Lillards 18-foot jumper pulled the Blazers within 92-80 with 9:17 remaining and his driving layup a minute and half later cut the margin to 94-84. Batum, who was 1 for 5 on 3-pointers in Game 1, hit his third of the game to cut the lead to 99-91 with 5:37 remaining. "The first two games, they went on a big run in the first half of both games," Lillard said. "Then in the second half, we come out and make those adjustments and those corrections and clean things up and then we play a much better half. We have to do a better job of taking away those second chances." The Trail Blazers had a chance to close within seven inside 5 minutes, but Leonard blocked Matthews layup from behind to maintain the Spurs advantage at 102-93. Parker followed with a jumper in the lane on Lillard, and Leonard and Ginobili hit back-to-back 3s to put San Antonio up 110-93 and put the game out of reach. NOTES: Portlands Thomas Robinson found the snake two hours before tipoff when he reached for a bag in his locker. The team initially thought it was a baby rattlesnake, but stadium officials later determined it was a non-venomous snake. The snake was estimated between 3 to 4 feet in length. ... Spurs general manager R.C. Buford was honoured before the tip after being awarded NBA Executive of the Year on Wednesday. Buford, who won the award for the first time in his 12th season as the teams general manager, received a rousing ovation from the sell-out crowd. ... Parker had to towel off after having beer spilled on his left leg when he tumbled into the courtside seats 2 minutes into the game. . TSN was honoured with several awards, with Rod Smith and James Duthie sharing the win for Best Sports Host for SportsCentre and the NHL: Season On The Brink coverage, respectively. . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U.DUBLIN, Ireland -- Australia defeated a turnover-prone Ireland 32-15 on Saturday, silencing the Dublin crowd with a performance that combined their expected backline speed with a surprising show of power up front. The Irish, meanwhile, struggled to get out of their own way with turnovers and defensive miscues that gifted Australia two easy first-half tries. The Wallabies scored four tries to none for Ireland and had another ruled out because of a knock-on over the line, and conceded just six points while playing with 14 men for a quarter of the match. Center Tevita Kuridrani was sent off in the 72nd minute for a tip tackle. "It got a bit ropey there at times. We probably spent 20 minutes there with one man short and were still able to defend the line, so were pretty pleased," Australia coach Ewen McKenzie said. Quade Cooper gave a maestros performance, his best since his recall in August, as he set up the first try and scored the third. His flyhalf counterpart Jonny Sexton, one of 10 Lions among Irelands starters, kept Ireland in the game at halftime with his boot, but limped off with a hamstring injury. Cooper and Sexton traded penalties during a scrappy, penalty-marred first quarter. Winger Nick Cummins put the visitors ahead for good in the 17th minute at the end of a series of sharp passes that wrong-footed Brian ODriscoll and Tommy Bowe. Cooper drew in ODriscoll, faked a long pass to Cummins that committed Bowe, and dumped it off short to Stephen Moore. The hooker burst through a gap and fired a one-handed pass to Cummins, who sprinted untouched to the posts after cutting inside as two confused defenders covered the corner. Australia attacked that same vulnerable spot seven minutes later. Scott Fardy burst down the sideline and cut open the defence with a back-handed offload to Michael Hooper at his shoulder. It was Hoopers first try for Australia. Ireland trailed only 15-12 at the half thanks to four penalties from Sexton, who was injured in the final seconds of first-half play. He was replaced by Ian Madigan, who hit his only penalty attempt. "Our defending was naive at times," Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said. "I felt just before halftime wed fought our way back into the game. But losing Jonny diidnt help. . " The visitors overwhelmed Ireland after the break with an increasingly muscular display that left ODriscoll in a heavy head dressing from a cut over his right eye, fullback Rob Kearney writhing in pain with bruised ribs, and Peter OMahony lucky to avoid injury after being dumped on his head. Kuridrani picked up OMahonys legs and dropped him head first. He was red-carded for a dangerous tackle and faces likely suspension. Australia nearly scored a try immediately after the restart, but Cummins broken-tackle burst past Bowe was disallowed because he lost control of the ball before touching down. The Wallabies didnt have to wait long, though. Cooper received a long pass from the ensuing five-meter scrum, faked a pass wide and cut between Madigan and centre Luke Marshall. Hooper scored his second try at the back of a ferocious maul that marched 10 metres across the Irish tryline. The score put an exclamation point on an Australian performance that few expected against traditionally physical, hard-tackling Ireland. "Obviously Im pleased to get my first test tries. But its extremely good for the team to get back-to-back wins for the first time this year," said Hooper, referring to Australias 50-20 defeat of Italy last week. Australia has lost eight of its 13 matches this year. McKenzie said Australia was ready for Irelands reliance on choke tackles and strength in the maul with locks Paul OConnell and 6-foot-11 Devin Toner. "We worked hard to nullify the strengths of their game, and we still wanted to express ourselves and demonstrate how weve been developing. I think we got the two right," he said. The Irish twice were denied consolation tries in the final minutes. New Zealand referee Chris Pollack called back Conor Murrays try because of a quick tap. Then replacement hooker Sean Cronin was denied his first try for Ireland because a video review spotted a knock-on in the build-up ruck. The battered Irish face powerful New Zealand next weekend. Schmidt said he didnt think Sexton would play and conceded that the prospect of beating the All Blacks was "a very tough ask." Australia concludes its test campaign this month with matches against Scotland and Wales. ' ' '

I definitely wasnt in a good rhythm tonight.

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