The Spurs obviously would prefer their 19-year-old keep the fender-denting to a minimum these days. Especially since Terry Porter's strained right calf has forced Popovich to hand his rookie the keys in the fourth quarter.

"I like the pressure," said Parker, who rarely saw the floor during crunch time a month ago. "The last couple of games, even when TP was there, Pop showed a lot of confidence and put me back in the fourth quarter. With all these big games, I'm ready to take the challenge."

Whether Parker is ready matters little. In the past, Popovich would bring in Porter to steady the team if needed. With Porter out for at least three more games, the only options are to move Antonio Daniels into that role ? even though Daniels is more comfortable at shooting guard ? or let Parker continue to cut his teeth as the playoffs near.

So far, Popovich has chosen the latter. In the past three games, Parker has averaged 11.0 points and 7.7 assists in 38.0 minutes ? up from the 8.8 points, 4.0 assists and 28.8 minutes he averaged in his first 63 games.

Using a team defense that would have even made the Baltimore Ravens proud, the Trail Blazers held Duncan to eight of his 34 points over the final 21:45 to beat the Spurs 98-93 and end their league-best 13-game winning streak.

The Spurs' first loss of the month also kept them from moving into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers ? who lost at Phoenix earlier Wednesday night ? for second place in the Western Conference. Instead, Portland (44-27) kept alive its slim hopes of catching the Spurs or Dallas for the No. 4 seed.

The Trail Blazers, a league-best 19-4 since the All-Star break, held the Spurs without a field goal for a critical stretch of 4:08 that ended when Duncan tipped in a miss with about 12 seconds left. By then, however, Portland had taken control of the game behind 24 points ? 18 in the second half ? from Bonzi Wells.

Smith, having survived his own assignment from Brungardt while tending to his sprained right ankle, graduated from the sidelines to the court Tuesday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, apparently satisfied with the results of Smith's workout, is expected to let him play tonight against Portland.

"I think I passed my test," Smith said after playing some fullcourt three-on-three. "I feel like I'm at 98, 99 percent. But I still can't jump."

Smith, of course, has been waging a losing battle with gravity long before he jammed his ankle against Chicago on March 14. Able to count his dunks this season on a single hand ? if not a single finger ? he has instead become the league's leading 3-point shooter.

While Smith still keeps in touch with Rasheed Wallace and other players from last season's team, it's a safe guess he no longer has Blazers president Bob Whitsitt's phone number on speed dial. Believing management had diminished his role by overstocking the team's roster, Smith asked for either a contract extension or a trade last summer.

The San Antonio Spurs assured their presence in the postseason with a 91-85 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles, writes Johnny Ludden of the San Antonio Express News.  The victory was the Spurs' 13th in a row, the record for the season.  They now stand at 49-21, the same record they had at this time last year in getting the league's best.  This recent success has come without the help of starter Steve Smith who has missed the last five games with a sprained ankle.  Their streak, however, is imperiled as they face the Blazers, Sonics and Lakers in the next three games.

The game was also important to the Dallas Mavericks, reports the AP.  The Clippers' loss meant that the Mavericks have also secured a playoff spot.  The Mavs and Spurs are still fighting for the Midwest Division Title.

During negotiations to re-sign Bowen, Riley called him the league's lowest-rated starting small forward in offense, and said his skills ? energy, athleticism, leadership and defense ? could be "found and taught."

"It's a business, and I understand that," Bowen said. "Five years, I might still be complaining to (the media). But if I'm complaining about not being there, what would the Spurs think? They'd be like, 'Damn, Bruce, do you want to be here? You're still talking about something in the past? Move on.'"

Bowen has moved on, and Saturday night he showed Riley just how far during the Spurs' 89-79 win at the Alamodome.

It really didn't hit us until after the Dallas game," David Robinson said. "That's when we thought, 'You know, we've actually been playing good basketball for a while now.'"

Now that the Spurs have finally recognized the depth of their success ? "It really doesn't feel like we've won 12 in a row," Antonio Daniels said ? continuing their run figures to get a lot tougher when they begin a four-game West Coast trip that could be part playoff tuneup, part scouting mission.

The Spurs could end up playing any of their next three opponents ? the Clippers (tonight), Portland (Wednesday) or Seattle (Friday) ? in the first round of the playoffs. Concluding their Best of the West swing is an NBC-televised date with the Lakers on Sunday.

The trip, which covers eight days and matches their longest sojourn of the season, should test the Spurs' endurance. Which is one reason why they're hoping Steve Smith, who has missed the past four games with a sprained right ankle, will be able to play tonight or Wednesday. Terry Porter is not expected to play tonight after straining his right calf Saturday.

March 25 ?        GAME: San Antonio Spurs (48-21) at Los Angeles Clippers (36-34).
      TIME: Monday, 10:30 p.m. EST.
      The San Antonio Spurs can't play much better.  
   
      Winners of 12 straight and closing in on the top seed in the Western Conference playoff race, the Spurs look to keep the streak alive when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers.
      San Antonio, which is tied with Dallas for the Midwest Division lead, is currently just a game and a half behind Sacramento for the top seed in the West. A victory on Monday will clinch a playoff spot for the Spurs.
      On Saturday, the Spurs just kept on rolling with an 89-79 win over the Miami Heat.
      ''Another game, another win,'' said forward Tim Duncan, who led the Spurs with 23 points and 11 rebounds. ''We've got a great streak going here.''
      After winning five of its last six games at the Alamodome, San Antonio now embarks on a four-game road trip against Pacific Division foes, hoping to further solidify its position near the top of the playoff picture.
      They'll kick that swing off with the Clippers, who have lost three of their last five games. Hoping to catch the Jazz for the final playoff spot, Los Angeles most recently fell to the Phoenix Suns 97-94 on Saturday.
      The Clippers are now 2? games behind the Jazz with 12 games remaining. But they were not discouraged after falling to the Suns.
      ''It was a tough loss, but the bottom line is that we play Utah two more times, so we're not going to get too down about this one,'' guard Eric Piatkowski said. ''We're not out of it by any means. If we play good ball from here on out, we'll be all right because who knows how Utah is going to finish out the season.''
      While the Clippers fell behind the Suns early, they did extend their franchise record for holding opponents under 100 points to 13 games. They are 9-4 during the streak.
      STANDINGS: Spurs - 1st place (tied), Midwest Division. Clippers - 5th place, 14 GB, Pacific Division.
      PROBABLE STARTERS: Spurs - F Bruce Bowen, F Duncan, C David Robinson, G Tony Parker, G Charles Smith. Clippers - F Elton Brand, F Tremaine Fowlkes, C Michael Olowokandi, G Piatkowski, G Jeff McInnis.
      TEAM LEADERS: Spurs - Duncan, 25.1 ppg and 12.7 rpg; Parker, 4.1 apg. Clippers - Brand, 18.4 ppg and 11.9 rpg; McInnis, 6.1 apg.
      SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 2-1. San Antonio opened up the season with a 109-92 win over Los Angeles on Oct. 30 behind 19 points from guard Steve Smith. Olowokandi had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Brand added 19 points and 14 rebounds as Los Angeles beat San Antonio 91-87 on Jan. 31, snapping a 15-game losing streak against the Spurs.
      LAST MEETING: Feb. 14; Spurs, 89-76. Duncan had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs limited Elton Brand and Quentin Richardson to a combined three points on their way to a win at the Staples Center.
      ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Suns - 11-22 on the road. Clippers - 23-12 at home.
      INJURIES: Spurs - F Stephen Jackson (thumb); G Jason Hart (knee); G Smith (ankle); G Terry Porter (calf). Clippers - F Lamar Odom (wrist); G Keyon Dooling (ankle); G Corey Maggette (finger).

The 105-102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday that had the Mavericks clawing through the final seconds for a prayer to be answered at American Airlines Center wasn't perfect.
And the result certainly wasn't what the Mavericks wanted, to drop into a tie for the Midwest Division lead with the Spurs, the first time the Mavericks have not held sole possession of first place since Jan. 26. It was the Spurs' 11th consecutive victory.

"That's why you play sports ? you want to be in a game like this," Dirk Nowitzki said. Countered coach Don Nelson: "I like to win by 20 points. It's more fun."

Johnny Ludden of the San Antonio Express News writes that the hard-charging Spurs scored another major victory last night.  A day after beating arch-nemesis LA Lakers, the Spurs went to Dallas (who also just came off a victory over the Lakers), and eked out a 105-102 victory.

Now, after carrying a 'pretender' tag most of the season, the Spurs have won 11 games in a row, beaten two of their three main Western Conference rivals, and pulled into a tie with Dallas for the Midwest Division lead.  And, they can do no worse than a series split if the two teams end the season with the same record.  San Antonio currently holds the better conference record, which is the third tie-breaker.

The race for the top spot in the Western Conference has turned into a four-team horse race between the Mavericks, Sacramento, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers. Only 2 1/ 2 games separate the four teams, with each one jockeying for the best position heading into next month's playoffs.

The Mavericks appear to have the toughest remaining schedule because they play nine of their final 15 games on the road. That includes playing four sets of back-to-back games and going against 11 teams whose won-lost record is above .500.

"We went through our easy period about a week and a half ago, so now we're in one of our toughest positions of the year," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "San Antonio just went through an easy stretch, and now they're getting that tough schedule just like we are."