Don’t forget about the Spurs

The Spurs (42-18) trail the top-seeded Mavericks by 8 1/2 games for the top spot in the conference and in the Southwest Division. The second-seeded Suns are four games ahead of No. 3 San Antonio, which leads the fourth seed and Northwest Division-leading Utah Jazz by just one game.

The red-hot Spurs go for their 10th straight victory when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at the Rose Garden. It is the third and final meeting of the campaign between the squads. San Antonio won the two previous contests. The Spurs have won seven in a row and 14 of the last 15 contests in the series. San Antonio has won three straight and seven of its last eight at Portland.

San Antonio plays the third of a four-game road trip against the Trail Blazers. On Monday, Manu Ginobili led five players in double figures with 16 points as the Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 88-74, at the Staples Center.

Beno Udrih added 14 points, Brent Barry netted 11 and Jacque Vaughn and Michael Finley both ended with 10 points in the victory for the Spurs, who won their ninth straight without the services of Tony Parker, who missed the contest with a left hip flexor.

All-Star forward Tim Duncan scored just nine points on 4-of-9 from the floor and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win over the Clippers for San Antonio.

Parker is doubtful for Tuesday’s contest. He is averaging 18.7 points and a team-best 5.5 assists per game. The 6-2 Parker has missed two straight contests.

The Spurs are 22-10 on the road this season. They are scheduled to visit the Sacramento Kings on Thursday at ARCO Arena. San Antonio is 2-0 against the Kings this season, and will host Sacramento on April 4th at the AT&T Center in fourth and final meeting of the campaign between the squads. The Spurs have won three straight after losing their last two at Sacramento.

Duncan leads the Spurs in scoring (20.2 ppg) and rebounding (10.7 rpg). The Wake Forest producthas collected 33 double-doubles this season. He is averaging 17.4 points and 9.3 boards in his last 10 outings.

San Antonio has allowed 74 points each of its last three contests and has not allowed its opponent to reach the century mark during its nine-game winning streak.