The Portland Trail Blazers, backs truly against the proverbial wall, once again failed to hold on to a big lead onn Sunday, losing to the San Antonio Spurs at home 114-93. The Spurs were simply much better in the second half in every phase of the game.
A good, energetic start saw the Blazers go up 4 early. It wasn’t long before poor shooting reared its ugly head. Nine unanswered points by the Spurs dug the Blazers a hole, but the game was messy, probably the best possible thing for Portland. Scrappy
defense, Spurs turnovers and some success attacking the rim helped reel the Spurs in. As the quarter closed, a block from Williams and a three from Shaedon Sharpe helped the Blazers go on their own 9-0 run, allowing them to get their noses in front. 25-23 at the end of one.
The poor shooting, especially from beyond the arc, continued be an anchor around the neck of the Blazers, but thanks to getting to the line and some poor shooting decisions from the Spurs, Portland held on to their narrow lead. The Blazers kept the foot on the accelerator, stretching the lead to 17, with some three-point shots finally hitting home. Time for Wembanyama to return to the court with a bit over 4:25 left in the quarter. The Spurs couldn’t find their groove however, and the Blazers held serve for the rest of the half. It ended 58-41 at the intermission, a tremendous defensive achievement for the Blazers. The Spurs shot 34.8% from the field for the half.
The Blazers came out in the third quarter shooting blanks. Ugh. Five missed shots in a row, and after the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter it’s suddenly a nine point game. How would the Blazers come out of the timeout? Another four misses and the Spurs are suddenly on a 13-0 run. Before you knew it the Spurs had taken the lead by two. Five quick points from Holiday stabilized the ship. It was a dogfight for the rest of the quarter. An Avdija three with 10 seconds in the quarter put the Blazers ahead, but a Wembanyama dunk just before the buzzer tied it up.
Wembanyama opened the fourth quarter with three quick dunks, and De’Aaron Fox added a couple of buckets. It was do-or-die time for the Blazers, down seven with eight minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Spurs found their stroke from deep, and the Blazers’ propensity for turnovers, held to manageable levels for much of the game, reared its head at the ugliest time. Portland found themselves down 13. It was all over for all intents and purposes with half the quarter to go.
Some flaring of tempers between Fox and Avdija, resulting technical fouls for each, was about the most interesting thing to happen the rest of the way. No comeback materialized.
Blazer of the Night
What would the Blazers have done without Jrue Holiday? His 20 points may not sound super impressive, but many of them came when the Blazers need them most while things were still looking good. More impressively, he guarded Wembanyama much of the evening, and provided a master class on how a shorter defender can make life difficult for a guy who is 7’4”. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t always pretty, but not allowing Wembanyama to decide the game early kept things within reach until the second half team collapse.
Stat of the Night
Unless you dominate the glass or force a ton of turnovers, you have to shoot the ball at an acceptable level. 40% from the field for the team just isn’t enough to get it done. You hate to point the finger, but 20% on 10 shots from Donovan Clingan, along with an absurd 1-6 (16.7%) from deep, is certainly the individual who catches the eye. You just can’t have your center waste so many shots.
What We’ll Remember
We’ll always have the first half. Again.
Up Next
The Blazers will try to give the fans at least one more home game, facing the Spurs in a possible elimination game in San Antonio at 6:30 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 28. A win would force a Game 6 in Portland. A loss ends the season.
