The Portland Trail Blazers took on the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night like an overloaded train trying to make it up a steep hill. The throttle was wide open, but progress was slow, at best. A lack of paint defense made the load heavier while turnovers froze ice onto the track. But Jerami Grant provided steady propulsion and Damian Lillard engineered the final climb over the peak as Portland escaped with a 117-110 victory.
If you missed the action, you can read our quarter-by-quarter recap here. After that, here are other observations from the game.