The San Antonio Spurs' inability to snag a road victory Sunday night at the Moda Center was through no fault of guard Manu Ginobili, who put forth a masterful performance off the bench to help keep the score close.
The 40-year-old Argentinian guard put up a season-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 6-of-9 from 3-point range in just 27 minutes in San Antonio's 111-110 loss at the hands of the Damian Lillard-less Portland Trail Blazers.
Ginobili became the sixth player in NBA history to drop 26 or more points in a game (regular season or playoffs) at the age of 40. The other five players currently reside in the Hall of Fame: Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Robert Parish, per Basketball Reference.
Now in his 16th season with the Spurs, Ginobili is also the first 40-year-old to score 20-plus points off the bench in back-to-back outings. He had 21 points, three assists, and a pair of steals on Friday in a 14-point win over the Phoenix Suns.
The four-time NBA champion is averaging 9.4 points, 2.3 boards, and 2.4 dimes through 34 appearances for the 27-14 Spurs, who sit third in the Western Conference and 5.5 games back of the Golden State Warriors for first place.