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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took pains to make sure guard Tony Parker was well rested for the playoffs. "I barely played in April," Parker said. "I was joking with Pop if I was still with the Spurs." The break has paid off. Parker scored 29 points and San Antonio took a 3-0 lead in its Western Conference semifinal series against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 118-103 victory on Saturday night. Parker has scored 29 or more points in three of his last four playoff games. He had 20 points in the first half alone in Game 3 against Portland. "Hes been the engine for us," Popovich said. "He started out really well tonight. He made shots, he involved everybody else. He was playing great D at the other end. Hes really playing a whole complete game." The Spurs led by as many as 23 points in the first half, building a big early lead just as they had in the first two games of the series in San Antonio. "I think it just happened," Parker said of the third straight game with a big jump on Portland. "We just wanted to come in and have a good start, take care of the ball and play good defence like we did at home." The teams meet again on Monday night at the Moda Center. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Portland, which pulled within eight points in the third quarter but couldnt get any closer. The Blazers were hurt by 15 turnovers and only six points from their bench. "Theyre just persistent," Aldridge said. "They play championship basketball and thats what we have to get to." No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series. In 2003, the Blazers rebounded with three wins after dropping the first three against Dallas, but ultimately lost the first-round series deciding game. San Antonio, the top seed in the West, is vying for a second straight trip to the finals: Last season the Spurs fell to the Miami Heat in seven games. The winner of the series goes on to meet the winner of the conference semifinal between Oklahoma City and the Clippers. The Thunder lead that series 2-1. San Antonio has dominated this one. On Thursday night, the Spurs built a 20-point lead and won 114-97. The Spurs routed the Blazers 116-92 in the series opener after a hard-fought seven-game series against the Dallas Mavericks. The Blazers were without reserve guard Mo Williams, who has a groin injury. Williams played just 9 minutes in Game 2, and the Spurs backups outscored Portlands 50-19. Williams has consistently brought a spark and leadership off the bench the whole season, and has capably filled in while Lillard rests. Earl Watson and Will Barton helped spell starter Damian Lillard in Game 3. The Blazers took a brief 13-12 lead midway through the first quarter on Lillards step-back jumper. It was just their second lead of the series. But Parker pestered the Blazers and his finger-roll layup put the Spurs up 25-15. Marco Belinellis falling-down jumper pushed the lead to 28-17 before the first quarter was over. Parkers back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Spurs a 58-35 late first-half lead and they went into the break ahead 60-40. Portland rallied to start the second half, pulling to 64-52 after Nicolas Batums 3-pointer. He hit another 3 to narrow it to 68-60, but the Spurs kept the Blazers from coming any closer and led 83-69 going into the fourth. Parkers layup and free throw gave San Antonio a 100-81 lead in the fourth. Portland mounted a rally to get to 103-91 on Robin Lopezs layup with 5:46 left but it was too late. "Pop, you have to give him credit. He looked at the big picture, and rested me (the last month)," Parker said. "When we started the playoffs, he told me Be ready to play 37-38 minutes a game, were going to need you to play at your best. And so far its working." Portland advanced to the second round for the first time in 14 years by defeating the Houston Rockets in six games, clinching the series with Lillards amazing 3-pointer at the buzzer at home for a 99-98 victory in the deciding game. The Spurs have a 3-2 series advantage over Portland in the playoffs, sweeping the previous meeting in the 1999 conference finals. The teams split the regular-season series 2-2. NOTES: Before Game 2 in San Antonio, Blazers forward Thomas Robinson saw a snake in the locker room at the AT&T Center. Because the snake hissed, the team at first thought it was a rattlesnake, but it later turned out it was not venomous. So before Saturday nights game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked if his team had seen any critters in the Moda Center: "We expected a Beaver but we didnt see one," he laughed. ... Tim Duncan moved past Karl Malone into fifth place all-time for career playoff points. He trails only Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal. Discount Nike Off White Free Shipping . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries. Buy Nike Off White Online .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer. http://www.nikeoffwhitecheap.com/ . The ongoing funk on penalty kill and an unusually quiet night on home ice for the power play divided the Leafs from the Bruins at the ACC in a rare Sunday night affair. Cheap Nike Off White Wholesale . No pretty goals on this night, just get to the front of the net and fight for a chance. Nike Off White Cheap Wholesale .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard.Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Maria Sharapova is now the overwhelming favorite at the French Open and played that way Friday after Agnieszka Radwanska became the latest womens high seed to fall at Roland Garros. The third-seeded Radwanska followed in the footsteps of Serena Williams and Li Na, exiting with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Croatias Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. Li, the second seed and 2011 French Open champ, was knocked off in the first round and Williams, the No. 1 seed and two-time winner at Roland Garros, fell in the second round. Radwanskas ouster leaves fourth-seeded Simona Halep as the highest-seeded player remaining in the womens draw, but Sharapova is now the clear-cut choice to claim her second French Open championship. Sharapova, the 2012 winner and last years runner-up to Williams, needed a mere 51 minutes to dispose of Argentinas Paula Ormaechea in a 6-0, 6-0 rout. She has dropped just 10 games in her first three matches and on Friday was simply dominating. Ormaechea won only 17 of the 71 points played and four of those came on double faults from Sharapova. The seventh-seeded Russian blasted 23 winners to Ormaecheas one and won all 14 points on the Argentines second serve. Despite the front-runner status, a tough fourth-round match against former U.S. Open champ Samantha Stosur awaits Sharapova. "My next opponent is Samantha Stosur, whos had a lot of success on these courts and loves playing on clay so thats my next challenge and I look forward to it," said Sharapova. Stosur, the 2010 French Open runner-up, knocked off ninth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4, 6-4. "Im really happy with the way I played today and I think its the first time I won three matches in a row for a while, too," said the 19th-seeded Stosur, who last reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the 2012 U.S. Open. "I just love playing here. Ive had some really great moments here and some of the best matches of my career actually. Hopefully I can still have a few more matches like this." Stosur, who lost to Francesca Schiavone in the 2010 French final, continued her mastery of Cibulkova, beating the 2014 Australian Open runner-up for the fifth time in as many tries without dropping a set. She also beat the Slovakian two years ago in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and earlier this month in the first round at the Madrid Open. The Aussies stay in Madrid ended with a third-round loss to Sharapova. Stosur is 2-13 lifetime against the Russian, inncluding 0-3 on clay.dddddddddddd "I have beaten her before. I know what it takes," added Stosur about the next matchup with Sharapova. "I know I have to play very well against her. I know there are certain things I have to do well and if I dont, then it makes life very, very tough that day. I will go out there and certainly give it my best shot." Cibulkova had her best Grand Slam finish earlier this year with a loss to Li in the final of the Australian Open. Her best result at the French Open was a semifinal loss to Dinara Safina in 2009, but its been a rough spring for the four-time WTA winner as she also dropped a first-round match in Rome after her first-round exit against Stosur in Madrid. Tomljanovic, meanwhile, is playing at Roland Garros for the first time and has now beaten three established veterans. Ranked 72nd in the world, she took out Schiavone in the first round and also knocked off Russian veteran Elena Vesnina in the second. "After seeing the two first seeds go out, (I) feel like I can do this, too," said Tomljanovic. "I grew up with these girls that are beating (the top seeds). Obviously, you respect everyone, but you dont fear anyone. This year Ive been in a few situations where I was up and didnt execute, so I wanted to make it right this time." Next up for Tomljanovic will be Spains Carla Suarez Navarro. The 14th seed eased past American teenager Taylor Townsend in a 6-2, 6-2 thumping. One of the giant killers, Spains Garbine Muguruza, followed up her stunning win over Williams with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Slovakias Anna Schmiedlova. Schmiedlova had previously eliminated Venus Williams on Wednesday. Muguruza will next play Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier, who rallied for a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Germanys Mona Barthel. Also Friday, eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany beat the darkness and Slovakias Daniela Hantuchova, completing a 7-5, 6-3 decision just before play was suspended due to insufficient light. Kerber will face Canadas Eugenie Bouchard in the round of 16. Bouchard, coming off her first career WTA victory last week in Nuremberg, came away with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Swedens Johanna Larsson. Saturdays third-round action will include matches for Halep and a pair of former French champions. Halep will take on Spains Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, while 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova and 2008 champ Ana Ivanovic will square off against Lucie Safarova. ' ' '