There was no need for a comeback on Tuesday, the Spurs showed up ready to take care of business.
In Games 3 and 4 of this series, Portland was the more aggressive team early and took big leads (15 and 19), forcing Spurs comebacks that became the bigger story. Portland never had the lead on Tuesday.
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It was the Spurs’ defense from the start, holding the Trail Blazers to 35.1% shooting on the night and a 102 offensive rating.
Add in 21 points from De’Aaron Fox and a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double for Victor Wembanyama, and it was all too much.
San Antonio picked up a comfortable 114-95 win and with that takes the series, 4-1.
Next up for the Spurs is the winner of the Minnesota vs. Denver series, which the Timberwolves lead 3-2.
Next up for the Trail Blazers is an offseason with a lot of questions for new owner Tom Dundon to answer, starting with whether Tiago Splitter will get to keep his job as coach. However, Dundon’s team also goes into the summer coming off an impressive playoff effort, pushing San Antonio (even in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
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At the start, it was all Spurs, who led by 12 after one quarter after holding the Trail Blazers to 11-of-31 shooting. In the second quarter, not much changed for Portland. Deni Avdija had 16 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, but the rest of the Trail Blazers combined to shoot 29.5% in the first 24 minutes.
The Spurs led by 10 after one quarter and 20 at the half, and it felt like they were in total control through the third quarter. However, in the fourth a Portland team playing with the desperation of a team trying to avoid elimination went on an 11-0 run and at a couple of points cut the lead to single digits.
That’s when Fox stepped up, scoring 13 of his points in the fourth.
For the game, Julian Champagnie had 19 points and six 3-pointers, while Dylan Harper added 17 points for the Spurs. Avdija finished with 22 points for the Trail Blazers, but was 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
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Give the young Spurs credit for closing the door (earlier in the night, the Celtics could not do it). This team does not shy away from the moment.
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