John Hollinger of ESPN.com writes that Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan could learn a lesson from San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who opted to rest key players during a Tuesday night game between the two teams. ----------------------------- It’s a lesson Blazers coach Nate McMillan might want to learn; one night after keeping LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace on the court for 38 and 35 minutes in a hopeless situation against the Lakers, he had Wallace still out there with Portland up by 40 in the fourth quarter. It was their last game before the All-Star break, yes, but the cumulative wear and tear of this season is already taking a toll on Wallace in particular, who is averaging 35.8 minutes and had three straight single-figure outings before Tuesday night. And it may also have taken a toll on Wes Matthews, who was on the court for no good reason in the fourth quarter when he sprained his left ankle. Fortunately for him, he’ll have eight days to recuperate before Portland plays again. ----------------------------- As noted last night, Matthews said on Tuesday night that he is fine and McMillan brushed off the idea that his starters shouldn't play so deep into games for the 234,564,323rd time of his career. -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter