Gregg Popovich sacrificed the Spurs’ 11-game win streak to rest Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in his team’s 137-97 blowout loss Tuesday night at Portland.

“(Tim) and Tony need a rest,” Popovich said before tipoff. “Everybody's played a lot of games, and somewhere along the line, everybody gives somebody a rest, and I think we've reached that point.

“Whether it's three games in four nights or X nights before, I don't know, I've lost track. But we've been going and going and going, and if we don't do it now, I think we're asking for trouble later.”

Duncan and Parker joined in injured players Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford on the Spurs' inactive list.

“We've had the same goal for 15 years: To be the best team we can possibly be come playoff time,” Popovich said before the game. “We've never ever talked about what our record should be, whether we are going to win a championship, or not. Never. It's never come up in any practice or game for 15 years.

“We just try to get better every day, and whatever happens, happens.”

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will defend his Taco Bell Skills Challenge title against a field consisting of Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets.

The 2012 Taco Bell Skills Challenge will take place on Feb. 25, at Amway Center in Orlando.

Manu Ginobili will be out two weeks with a left internal oblique strain.

Joining Ginobili on the Spurs injury list is backup center Tiago Splitter, who is dealing with a right calf strain.

The Spurs have won 11 straight games and are in second place behind the Thunder in the Western Conference.

The San Antonio Spurs today signed forward Eric Dawson. 

In 18 games with the Toros this season, Dawson (6-9, 250) averaged 15.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks in 29.3 minutes.  He has recorded 12 double-doubles, including a season-high 28 points in a 105-100 win over the Springfield Armor on Dec. 29, 2011. 

Tony Parker has stepped forward and taken ownership of the Spurs, who have won ten straight games.

“It’s been 10 years, and he’s had some amazing games, some amazing streaks,” Manu Ginobili said. “But he owns the team now; he really owns it.”

Parker is averaging 21.6 points and 7.7 assists over his last ten games.

“He’s making great decisions, not forcing the issue,” Ginobili said. “In the first half he sometimes lets teammates play and then takes control of the game in the fourth quarter. That’s different, and he’s been very solid, very mature and the key reason we’ve won ten games in a row.”

Spurs rookie Cory Joseph spent 10 days with the D-League’s Toros and will likely be visiting Austin again at some point this year.

“Everybody looks at the D-League and thinks it’s a bad thing,” Joseph said. “But Pop just told me to go down and get some minutes. This year we only had like a week of training camp and there aren’t many practices because we have so many games. He just wanted me to go down there and get some minutes and get some game experience.”

The Spurs appreciate Joseph’s work ethic and character.

“He’s a high-character young man. He’s got a great work ethic. He’s very coachable. He wants to learn. He will learn,” Popovich said. “He is an easy student or an easy person to have on the team. He probably just needs to play.”

The Spurs won their ninth straight game and improved to 5-0 on their current rodeo road trip with a 113-106 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday.

“We’ve won nine in a row,” Parker said of the Spurs’ longest win streak since December 2010. “If nobody talks about it, that’s fine. We’ll keep playing good basketball.”

The Spurs have grown accustomed to playing under the radar.

“Here in San Antonio, (a win streak) really doesn’t mean that much,” said Richard Jefferson, who had 10 points. “Pop still comes in here wanting us to get better. Nothing changes. He’s going to be mad at every timeout.

Manu Ginobili will make his return from a broken left hand Saturday night in New Jersey.

“I don’t have great expectations for the first couple of games,” Ginobili said. “I just want to contribute, help a little bit. Just try to fit in again.”

The Spurs went 15-7 in Ginobili’s absence and own the NBA’s longest current winning streak at six games.

“Maybe it screws us up for a while, maybe it doesn’t,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s Manu. When he’s ready to go, you don’t care if you’re winning, losing. It doesn’t matter. He’s coming back.”

The NBA announced the reserves for the 2012 All-Star Game on Thursday.

Joining LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony on the Eastern Conference team are Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Roy Hibbert, Andre Iguodala, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams.

Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bynum and Kevin Durant will have LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook on their Western Conference team.

The NBA has announced the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge participants on Wednesday.

Sophomores selected include DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Landry Fields (New York Knicks), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz), Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons), Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs), Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers) Paul George (Indiana Pacers), and John Wall (Washington Wizards).

Freshmen selected include Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers), Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves), Brandon Knight (Detroit Pistons), Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Marshon Brooks (New Jersey Nets), Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves).