The San Antonio Spurs took a 3-1 lead against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Despite trailing by 19 points in the first half, the Spurs came back with a vengeance, outscoring the Blazers 73-35 in the second half to win Game Four 114-93.
Victor Wembanyama returned from concussion protocols in Game Four and dominated as he did in Game One. Wembanyama owned the defensive end of the floor and gave the Spurs just enough offense to pull ahead. He was aided by his All-Star running mate, De’Aaron Fox,
who led all scorers with 28 points. The Spurs are now -650 favorites on FanDuel to win Game Five in San Antonio to advance to the Western Conference Semis.
Wembanyama and Fox will lead our Game Four player grades. As a quick reminder, these grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.
Victor Wembanyama
34 minutes, 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 7 blocks, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 9-for-17 shooting, 1-for-4 threes, +28
Portland is at its best when it can get to the rim. They could not do that against Wembanyama. Seven blocks and four steals speak for themselves, but as we all know with Wemby, it’s more about the shots that don’t go up or the passes that don’t get made that define his impact. The Blazers only scored 38 points in the paint. Wembanyama effectively shut down their most potent offensive weapon: paint scoring.
Wembanyama settled a lot offensively in the first half. He put up some fairly baffling threes and mid-range jumpers as he tried to get back in a rhythm. Once he started to feast on lobs around the rim, the Spurs settled in offensively and blew out the Blazers. His shot selection keeps this from being an A+ game, but he was pretty darn close.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
39 minutes, 28 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 11-for-17 shooting, 4-for-8 threes, +21
This may have been Fox’s best performance as a Spur. He has certainly had bigger scoring nights, but in terms of impact and stakes, this takes the cake. Fox was the offensive engine that got them back into the game and helped them extend the lead. He was smart about when he needed to get into the paint, and made some momentum-shattering shots from deep.
I have really liked what I’ve seen from Fox in this series, too. When he’s been matched up with Deni Advija, he’s gone chest to chest with him and done an admirable job shutting down his drives. With Wembanyama in the game, he’s been aggressive at the point of attack, creating turnovers. On Sunday, he had an incredible blocked three-point shot in the first quarter. That two-way impact is exactly what San Antonio needs from Fox for the rest of the playoffs.
Grade: A+
Stephon Castle
26 minutes, 16 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 6-for-14 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, +17
Castle’s defensive effort has been incredible. He was left in for the third quarter despite playing with four fouls because of how impactful he has been. It felt like he was everywhere defensively as the Spurs started to storm back against Portland. Offensively, it was an up-and-down game, but his ability to hit spot-up threes has changed how the Blazers have to guard him. It’s to the point now where I don’t think they can continue to put a big on him and leave him completely alone.
Grade: B+
Julian Champagnie
29 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 foul, 3-for-6 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, +22
It’s almost getting boring to write the Champagnie blurb in this series. He’s just doing his job. He hits open threes when they come his way, and he plays good enough defense not to get burned. He has worked in a few more drives, attacking the aggressive Portland closeouts. He seems to be gaining confidence as the series progresses, which is a good sign for the Spurs’ playoff chances.
Grade: B
Devin Vassell
35 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 5-for-9 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, +14
Vassell’s shot selection was much better in Game Four. He made some clutch shots in the third quarter to help the Spurs get back into the game. He was a part of the defensive unit that locked down the Blazers in the second half. It wasn’t an explosive offensive game, but he helped the team in a major way.
Grade: B+
Dylan Harper
25 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 1-for-6 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, +4
San Antonio’s bench struggled overall. The Blazers’ bench outscored the Spurs’ bench 34-24. Harper was quiet in Game Four after his coming-out party in Game Three. It wasn’t a great game from Harper, but it’s hard to call it a bad one either. He has 0 turnovers, so he didn’t hurt them with the ball in his hands. When Castle was in foul trouble, Harper gave them a solid ball-handler to keep the momentum going.
Grade: C
Luke Kornet
12 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-for-7 shooting, -10
This was not Kornet’s best game. He was still impactful on the offensive boards, but his inability to finish inside hurt San Antonio in the first half. With Wembanyama back, Kornet returns to a smaller bench role where he will be relied on to keep the defense in a decent spot while the starters rest.
Grade: C-
Harrison Barnes
11 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 1-for-2 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, +8
Barnes had his most impactful play of the series so far when he made a big offensive rebound and then slammed it to give the Spurs the lead in the 3rd. He was a steady veteran presence in his 11 minutes. It was an inspired choice by Mitch Johnson to go to him over Carter Bryant when things got close in the third quarter.
Grade: B-
Keldon Johnson
17 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, -5
Johnson needed a comeback game in a bad way. It wasn’t as loud as Harper’s in Game Three, but it felt like KJ had the type of performance that would build the confidence he needs going into the rest of the playoffs. He finally scored around the rim a bit more and was on the floor during the Spurs’ big run. It would be great to see him build off this performance in Game Five.
Grade: C+
Carter Bryant
6 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-3 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, -3
Mitch went with the vets in this key game. Bryant only meets the minute requirement by playing in garbage time. It was great to see him knock down open three-pointers. He looked much more confident letting it fly.
Grade: C
Jordan McLaughlin
2 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1-for-1 shooting, +2
It was the return of J-Mac. I loved to see his floater go in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Bismack Biyombo
2 minutes, 0 points, +2
Biyombo got into the game but made no real impact in garbage time.
Grade: Incomplete
Lindy Waters III
2 minutes, 0 points, +2
Not a single three-point attempt in garbage time? Come on, Lindy, get those shots up!
Grade: Incomplete
Mason Plumlee
2 minutes, 0 points, +3
First Spurs’ playoff minutes for Plumdog Millionaire. Somehow, he was +3 when the rest of the garbage time players were +2?
Grade: Incomplete
Inactives: Harrison Ingram, David Jones-Garcia, Emanuel Miller
