Spurs beat Blazers, back in West finals

Thursday, May 15, 2014

photo San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard, right, steals the ball from Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, left, during their Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA playoff series, Wednesday, May 14, 2014, in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO - Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard each scored 22 points, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an injury to Tony Parker to close out the Western Conference semifinals with a 104-82 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Patty Mills scored 18 points and Tim Duncan had 16 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which had four blowout victories in the five-game series.

It's the third straight conference finals appearance for San Antonio, which lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Miami Heat in last season's NBA Finals.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points for Portland, while Damian Lillard added 17 points and 10 assists.

The Trail Blazers' bench contributed only seven points compared to 40 by the Spurs' reserves.