The San Antonio Spurs held on late Tuesday night to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95, advancing to the second round with a 4-1 series win.
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It didn’t take long for the Spurs to take control of the matchup. In less than four minutes, strong play on both ends put the Spurs up by 11. Portland’s ice-cold three-point shooting made matters worse as the Spurs’ lead only increased.
The second quarter saw the Blazers’ offensive struggles intensify, sinking just eight of their 21 shot attempts in the period. Victor Wembanyama wasn’t the offensive leader like he usually is, because the Spurs didn’t need him to be.
They had six players finish in double figures as their lead grew to 28 points in the second quarter.
The third quarter was a different story for San Antonio. While the Blazers still couldn’t close the gap, the Spurs went cold in the third frame as well. Both sides squeaked out 21 points in the period as San Antonio remained in control.
While it looked all but over, the Blazers came storming back into the game in the final quarter. They finally made a few timely threes while playing much stronger defense.
Portland was able to cut the lead down to nine with less than six minutes to play, but a few clutch De’Aaron Fox buckets kept the Spurs in front for the win.
He finished the game with 21 points and nine assists while Wembanyama put up 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.
For Portland, Deni Avdija led the way with 22 points and three assists on 7-of-15 shooting.
The Spurs will now face the winner of the the first-round series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota leads that series 3-2.
James Parker contributed to this story.
