Soaring Spurs stuck in Game 7 mode

— -- SAN ANTONIO -- Rick Carlisle has done a lot of good for Terry Stotts, such as bringing Stotts to Dallas as a lead assistant and lobbying hard for him to be hired when the Portland Trail Blazers had a head-coaching vacancy.

Pushing the San Antonio Spurs to seven games? That was far from a favor to Stotts' Blazers.

The Spurs flipped a switch in the first round for Game 7, finishing off a surprisingly competitive series by routing the Dallas Mavericks. San Antonio hasn't turned it off since, taking a 2-0 series lead over Portland with a couple of lopsided victories at the snake pit known as the AT&T Center.

"We know we didn't play well against Dallas except that seventh game," Spurs sixth man Manu Ginobili said after Thursday's 114-97 win over the Blazers. "I don't know if that triggered something or not, but for sure we started well this series. The aggressiveness, the concentration for 48 minutes, was off the charts, so we are very happy for that. Hopefully, we maintain that."

The Spurs suddenly look like the team that earned the NBA's top overall seed again. After struggling to dismiss a pesky eighth seed, San Antonio looks like the squad that reeled off a franchise-record 19 consecutive wins from late February to early April, posting an average margin of victory of 16.8 points during a winning streak that tied the fifth-longest in NBA history.

The Spurs have been even more dominant during this three-game run, winning by an average of 21.3 points since being pushed to the brink of elimination.

"It was a great test for us," All-Star point guard Tony Parker said. "I think every time you play a Game 7 and you win, it gives you confidence. The team right now is doing good, but we know it can change real fast, so we just have to stay focused."

Parker has been the Spurs' primary catalyst, following up his 32-point Game 7 performance by going off for 33 in Game 1 against the Blazers. Portland, using physical shooting guard Wesley Matthews as the primary Parker defender, accomplished its goal of keeping the Spurs point guard from dominating Game 2 in the paint.

Parker responded by dominating as a distributor, dishing out eight of his 10 assists in the first half as the Spurs raced out to a 19-point lead at the break. He finished with 16 points and 10 assists.

The Spurs, meanwhile, are still playing like it's Game 7.