Lower seed on the road shocks higher seed at home in Game 1. It’s a tale as old as time (e.g., The 2003 playoffs when the number 8 seeded Phoenix Suns stole Game 1 on the road against the number 1 seeded San Antonio Spurs). They say a playoff series truly doesn’t start until someone loses at home. Well, consider this playoff series started!
Dylan Harper led the team with 18 points, plugging in while Stephon Castle battled foul trouble. Victor Wembanyama notched a triple-double with 11 points, 15 bards,
and 12(!) blocks.
This atmosphere looked fun. Seemed almost collegiate-like energy.
Victor Wembanyama was on a warpath in the paint on Monday night. The 12 blocks represented the most all-time in a playoff game. That’s the new benchmark, Victor. Let’s go for 13+ next game out and at least triple that amount in points (insert Cheshire grin here).
Stephon Castle shot well from downtown in Game 1, draining 3 out of 5 attempts. Who knows, maybe if he was able to play at least 35 minutes, could have been 4 out of 6 or 5 out of 7. Seems a shame that your second-best player could not stay on the floor for at least 30 minutes because of some circumstances outside of his control (and others within his control, but mostly a lot outside of his control).
Am I biased? Yes. Am I (probably) wrong? Also yes (probably). Am I coping? Yes, but that’s why they play the game, babyyy (read that in your best Dick Vitale voice).
De’Aaron Fox with the nice dish to find Dylan Harper for the dunk. Fox led the team with 6 assists in a slug fest where both teams found difficulty finding any offensive rhythm. My wife said I should say something nice about the officiating. So if she asks, I did—it’s somewhere in this paragraph if you look close enough. It’s a good thing she doesn’t read my articles unless I ask her to.
OK no more coping. It’s a highlights article for Tim Duncan’s sake. Let’s focus up like Wembanyama was focused up on defense for this entire possession where he got two blocks in a row.
Even though I’ve watched this team all year, the increased minutes in the playoffs for Dylan Harper has made me really notice how smooth his game is around the rim.
Case in point, Harper going coast-to-coast for a left-handed (his dominant hand) lay-in on the right side of the rim to protect it from would-be blockers. He makes it looks so effortless and fluid.
If you told me back in 2016 that in ten years I’ll be watching two Frenchmen battle each other in the playoffs, I’d assume you meant Tony Parker and Boris Diaw because I love those guys. I’d still watch them play today, but I suspect Diaw is off the grid somewhere doing most interesting man in the world things like stealing the Declaration of Independence or the Magna Carta, because not everything in the world revolves around the U.S.—unless it’s the NBA playoffs.
Wembanyama set up this nice transition bucket with a volleyball swat on the defensive end. Castle scoops up the remains of that poor swatted ball and finds Fox for the flush. No one asked me, but if you asked me, if these three score just a bit more in Game 2, I like the Spurs’ chances.
Blocks aren’t easy. Even if you are as tall as a tree, the timing and athleticism required to swat a shot without hitting your opponent’s arm/hand/elbow/appendages used to type out some Mandalorian fan fiction is difficult as it is, much less doing it 12 times in a playoff game.
Shout out to my wife who didn’t roll her eyes or have me sleep on the couch while I was watching the Spurs on our anniversary. To be fair, she knew what she was signing up for seven years ago when I suggested naming our daughter Bruce Bowen.
If you missed the game because you were too busy researching the number of baby girls named Bruce Bowen, here are the full-game highlights:
Next up, the Spurs remain at home against the Timberwolves for Game 2 on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
