SAN ANTONIO -- After nearly falling on their face in the opening round of the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs found their footing Tuesday night and ran the Portland Trail Blazers off the court. Tyler Kinley Jersey . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. "Hes been doing that for a lot of years," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Its nothing different. Hes the guy thats our attack guy. (He) creates for everybody and starts the offence. Hes also played very good defence this year and most people dont really see that." Parker, who had 32 points in Game 7 against Dallas, scored 13 points in the first quarter on a series of drives and capped it with a corner 3 as San Antonio built a 10-point lead 8 minutes into the game. The Spurs never led by less than 20 in the second half. "They did what championship teams do," Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge said. "They came out and set the tone early. Most of the guys on (Portlands) team havent even been in the second round and theyve won championships. Theyve been here. I think they definitely came out and they let us know how its going to be." Kawhi Leonard had 16 points and Tim Duncan added 12 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. More importantly for the Spurs, their bench contributed mightily after being virtually nonexistent in the series against Dallas. Marco Belinelli had 19 points and the Australian connection of Aron Baynes and Patty Mills had 10 points apiece. "We came out swinging, caught them with a few early punches and they were on their back heel at that point," Baynes said. "It was good for us that we came out like that but now we have to maintain it." The Spurs had their most complete game of the post-season, playing with the flair and fluidity that resulted in the leagues best regular-season record. "I think Game 7 (against Dallas) gave us a lot of confidence for our team," Parker said. "I think team wise we played our best game in Game 7. I think tonight was a little bit of the same thing. Defensively, it was one of our best games because Portland has a lot of shooters, a lot of scorers." Portland, meanwhile, didnt come close to resembling the confident and sharp-shooting group that upset Houston in the opening round. Aldridge had 32 points and 14 rebounds and Damian Lillard had 17 points for Portland, but the All-Star duo combined for just 17 points in the first half as San Antonio built a 26-point lead. "They knew where we were going to do (plays)," Aldridge said. "They tried to deny guys on certain sets. They tried to force guys to their weak hand. They did what good teams do. I think guys are going to learn from it." Lillard was pushed out of the paint by 6-foot-7 Leonard early in the game and was nearly knocked off his feet defensively by a series of blistering picks. It wasnt any easier physically for Aldridge, who opened the game shooting 1 for 5 against Tiago Splitter and Baynes. "The first half was not what we were looking for," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "San Antonio really came out with a lot of energy and aggressiveness. They were the more aggressive team at both ends of the floor for the whole half." Splitter had an early steal on a pass to Aldridge and nearly had a second when he poked a dribble away as the 6-11 forward attempted to push his way into the block. Splitter hit the court in a failed attempt to keep the ball from going out of bounds, but it mattered little as the tone had been set for a long night for Aldridge and the Trail Blazers. Duncan left the game with 4 minutes remaining in the first quarter after picking up two quick fouls, but the Spurs increased their lead in his absence thanks to big contributions from reserves. Baynes had an immediate impact after playing only the final 6 minutes of San Antonios Game 7 victory over Dallas. He scored four points quickly and continued the physical defence against Aldridge that Splitter established. "He was awesome," Duncan said. "He gave us some great minutes. He came in there with his big body, made some plays for us, made some shots, cleaned up the glass. He did everything he was asked to do. It was great." Belinelli finished 3 for 5 from 3-point range, leading the Spurs bench to leap to their feet in loud celebration after the Italian guards struggles in the opening series. After going just 4 for 7 on 3-pointers against Dallas, Belinelli opened the game by hitting his first three attempts from long range. "Ball movement was good," Parker said. "Dallas made a conscious effort to stay on our shooters. Tonight was different. I made a conscious effort to find Marco. I talked to Pop. We wanted Marco to be back in the series, be back in the playoffs. I was trying to call his number and look for him a lot. Tonight I think half my assists were to Marco." The Spurs scored the opening eight points from close range as Portland missed its first six attempts from a variety of spots on the court. NOTES: San Antonio and Portland had not met in the playoffs since the Western Conference finals in 1999, when Sean Elliott made a dramatic 3-pointer with 9 seconds remaining to win Game 2 and spark a series victory. Dubbed the "Memorial Day Miracle," Elliott made the game-winning shot after catching a pass, turning with his heels hovering above the out-of-bounds line and firing a high-arcing shot over a hard-charging Rasheed Wallace. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title that season. ... Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen was in attendance as was NBA super fan Jimmy Goldstein, who was dressed in his trademark leather outfit and hat. ... Ginobili was issued a technical foul by Tony Brothers after slamming the ball to the court following a travelling violation with 1:23 remaining in the first quarter. ... Entering the series opener, Duncan had played as many post-season games (218) as the entire Portland roster. Jarlin Garcia Jersey .Jeff Green, playing in his second preseason game after missing the first four because of a calf strain, had 18 points. The Celtics (3-3) shot 47.2 per cent from the floor and made 15 of 37 3-point attempts. John Cangelosi Jersey . - Kobe Bryant and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night with warmth and humour. ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins are back atop the Western Conference thanks to a gritty come-from-behind win Saturday night. The Griffins scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Abbotsford Heat 5-2 in American Hockey League action. With his club down 2-0 after 20 minutes of action, head coach Jeff Blashill made a goaltending change that seemed to spark his club. Tom McCollum allowed two goals on 10 shots, but Petr Mrazek came in and stopped all 13 shots he faced. "It wasnt Tommys fault for the goals, but it was one of those things where you want to change it up to change the momentum," said Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan. "Petr came in and did well. It was huge for us." David McIntyre gave the Griffins the lead for the first time in the game at 8:39 of the third when he redirected Nick Jensens point shot from the side of the net. "The play was started by Jordan Tootoo, getting the puck into the zone," said McIntyre. "It was a great pass from Nick Jensen. It was right on the tape, it was real easy for me." Andrj Nestrasil, Teemu Pulkkinen, Hoggan and Tootoo also scored for Grand Rapids (35-17-5), which has won five consecutive games and moved past Texas - whos game Saturday was suspended - for first in the Western Conference. "Weve been up and down since the All-Star break," said Hoggan. "We were flat in the first but stuck with it. It was a big win for us (because) thats a good team over there." Max Reinhart had two first-period goals for Abbotsford (33-18-6), which is winless in four games. Joey MacDonald made 37 saves in the loss. "They do a great job in the offensive zone of forechecking, and in the neutral zone - theyre sound system-wise," said Heat captain Dean Arsene. "We just had too many turnovers, and a skilled team like that in transition, they just ate us up." Reinhart got the Heat on the board early, deflecting Arsenes point shot past McCollum at the 1:23 mark. Magneuris Sierra Jersey. The North Vancouver, B.C., native scored his second of the night with just 12 seconds to go in the first period when he finished off a give-and-go with Corey Locke, beating McCollum short side, top corner. Thats when Grand Rapids changed goaltenders. "I would have probably done the same," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward of his counterparts decision. "He needed a change, a spark. We got to McCollum. We (previously) beat him (in Grand Rapids), so (Blashill) probably felt it was time for that change. They did a good job of keeping the game 2-0. We had a couple of looks to go up 3-0 but we didnt make those things happen, even when Mrazek was in net." Nestrasil got Grand Rapids on the board at 13:20 of the second period. After a pair of Abbotsford players failed to clear the puck it bounced right to the Czech Republic native, who quickly beat MacDonald glove side for his seventh of the season. The Griffins tied the game at 4:34 of the third period. From behind the net, Hoggan quickly stuffed the puck between the post and MacDonalds skate. It was just the second goal the captain scored since Christmas. "We racked up a lot of shots, we just kept getting pucks to the net," said Hoggan. "Joey Mac played the puck behind the net but I ended up having some space to walk out front." McIntyre scored to put the visitors up four minutes later. "It was a good pass from Jensen, backdoor," said Hoggan. "We were struggling to score goals, so it was nice to get five tonight." Tootoo scored an insurance marker with 4:09 to go in the game, picking the corner with a wrist shot from the face-off dot. "Obviously (Tootoo) is a grizzled veteran," said McIntyre. "Hes played a lot of big games so he knows what it takes to win. That was a great shot." Pulkkinen added an empty netter with less than two minutes to play, giving him five goals in three games. ' ' '