PORTLAND, Ore. – LaMarcus Aldridge took a seat in front of his locker in the Moda Center, crossed his arms tightly and didn't flinch when asked about his poor play down the stretch in the Spurs' 111-110 loss to the Trail Blazers on Sunday night.



"This one's on me," he said.



Aldridge had his team-high 16th double-double of the season with 30 points and 14 rebounds against his former team.



But he also missed a pair of free throws with 1:27 left and missed badly with a rushed, pull-up 19-foot jumper with 2.4 seconds left that could have won the game for the shorthanded Spurs.



"I definitely I have to be better," Aldridge said. "I missed two free throws (with the Spurs ahead 108-107) and then I rushed the last shot. The team did a really good job of putting us in that position, but I have to knock down my free throws and I definitely have to take my time on that shot."



The Spurs (27-14) went ahead 110-109 on a pair of Kyle Anderson free throws with 13.4 seconds left. But after a timeout, McCollum answered with a six-foot floater over Aldridge with 5.9 seconds left to put Portland (21-18) up by the final score.



"I wanted him to be aggressive," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of McCollum. "The idea is that if he's got a head of steam, he's not able to be trapped. LaMarcus was the only big the Spurs had in, so he was able to get a shot."



After Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called back-to-back timeouts, Aldridge got what he thought was a solid look.



"I'll take that shot," he said. "I just rushed it. I didn't want to put it on the floor too much because I didn't know who was behind me.



"But it's basketball. Every experience you can learn from, so next time I am in that position I will take my time and I will look around."



Popovich said he had no problem with Aldridge attempting the 19-footer.



"Both teams played hard," he said. "It could have gone either way. You win or you lose."



In blowing a 12-point third quarter lead, the Spurs wasted another outstanding effort from 40-year-old Manu Ginobili, who scored 12 of his season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.

Ginobili, who hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the final frame, became the first player in his 40s to score 15-plus points in consecutive games since Michael Jordan did it in 2002-2003.



But Ginobili, who had 21 points in last Friday night's win over Phoenix, took no solace in that fact.



Instead, he pointed to the Spurs blowing their third quarter lead and wasting great efforts from so many players, including Pau Gasol (16 points, nine rebounds and five assists) and Bryn Forbes (10 points on 5 of 10).



"Such a great effort," Ginobili said. "We were right there and it just slipped away."



Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who missed the first 27 games of the season while rehabbing an injured quadriceps, did not play after suffering a left shoulder strain on Friday night.



The club does not have a timeline for Leonard's return, but Popovich did not rule him out for Monday's game at Sacramento.



"I don't think it will be a while," Popovich said when asked how long he thought Leonard would be out.



The Spurs were also without Tony Parker (return-from-injury management), Danny Green (tightness, left groin) and Rudy Gay (left heel bursitis).



But Portland also played shorthanded. Damian Lillard, who leads the Blazers with a 24.9 per-game scoring average, missed the game with a right calf strain.



In knotting their season series with the Spurs at 1-1, the Blazers got 25 points and seven assists from McCollum and 19 points off the bench from Maurice Harkless.



But, in the end, it all came down to Aldridge missing the 19-footer.



"It's normal that he feels like that," Ginobili said of Aldridge shouldering the blame. "It's the way leaders feel after situations like this. But he was the one who kept us alive for most of the game. Without him playing at that high level, we wouldn't have been even close. It sucks to miss big free throws and have the shot to win and miss it, but it happens. He has done so much on both ends of the court and he has been the most reliable player we have had."



Still, Aldridge wasn't about to let himself off the hook.



"Playing well up to (crunch time) doesn't matter," he said. "It's about finishing and getting the win. Guys played well down the stretch and I have to finish it. I definitely want to be better down the stretch. If Kawhi is not in, I have to be able to produce down the stretch. I'm going to learn from it, and I am going to be better for sure."





Tom Orsborn is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | torsborn@express-news.net | Twitter: @tom_orsborn