Ginobili's perfect night moves Spurs closer to playoff berth

Sixteen years into his NBA career, Manu Ginobili can still provide instant offense.

The San Antonio Spurs veteran guard poured in 17 points off the bench on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc Saturday to help lift his club to a 116-105 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ginobili, 40, went on a personal 8-0 run during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter (and scored 10 in the frame) that all but put the game away for San Antonio.

With the win, the Spurs maintain the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. They need to win one of their final two games to clinch a playoff berth, with tilts against the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans rounding out the 82-game slate.

Ginobili's performance also saw him tie Michael Jordan for the most double-digit scoring games (29) for a player aged 40 years or older. The Argentinian shooting guard is averaging 8.6 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in 20 minutes per outing.