The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the San Antonio Spurs 111-98 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on the road Sunday evening.
In the franchise’s first playoff game in five years, the seventh-seeded Blazers put up a respectable showing against the second-seeded Spurs, even in a loss. Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija was great with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting 12-21 from the floor. Scoot Henderson also showed up with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists on an efficient
7-11 shooting from the floor.
But the Blazers duo was overshadowed by a 35-point performance from young phenom Victor Wembanyama and a more holistic effort from the Spurs supporting cast. The Spurs shot 15-33 from deep, while the Blazers shot a woeful 10-38. You can read our extended recap of Game 1 here.
After the loss, Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter, Avdija and Henderson took the podium to answer questions about the game. Below are some notable quotes from each interview.
Tiago Splitter
Tiago Splitter on his overall thoughts of the team’s performance in Game 1:
The Spurs put you in tough positions. Against them, you’ve gotta shoot the ball well from 3 — 10 for 38, 26%, so we gotta shoot the ball better. The possession game, I think they did a good job rebounding the ball. We couldn’t get offensive rebounds as we do usually. We took care of the ball. Only [11] turnovers. But overall, I think we played hard. We’re gonna watch film, see what we can do better.
Splitter on how the team fared defending Wembanyama, who shot 13-21 from the floor and 5-6 from 3:
He had an amazing game, of course. … It’s really hard to take him out of the paint. I think we did a good job, for the most part, taking him out of the paint. Of course, he rolled a couple times with a small on him, and that’s a bucket. But those five 3s really hurt us.
Splitter on what about the non-Wembanyama lineups gave the Blazers trouble in Game 1:
I thought we couldn’t make money out of those minutes. I think [Luke] Kornet did a good job defending and grabbing offensive rebounds. I think we gotta be better in those minutes, for sure.
Splitter on his message to the team after the game:
They played hard. They fought. It wasn’t our best night. But this is a series, and we gotta learn from this, adjust and go fight again.
Deni Avdija
Deni Avdija on if he felt a “welcome to the playoffs moment” in his first playoff game:
It was a special night for most of us, playing versus a good team in their arena with good fans, and I feel like we were a little bit excited. A lot of guys, it’s there first playoffs, including myself. We’re not the most experienced. I definitely felt like we could’ve played better. Obviously, it wasn’t our greatest game. But I think part of it is just having the first playoff game, being in this environment, it’s a little shocking. To be honest with you, I’m very positive from what I saw today. I feel like we didn’t play great. We didn’t shoot the ball great. Our defense needs to be sharper. And we weren’t far off.
Avdija on if the team’s ability to remain in the game and fight back from multiple deficits was a sign of the resilience Portland has shown in recent weeks:
I feel like we were right there. They shot the ball really good today, and we gotta see if they can do it consistently. But I think we need to sharpen our defense up even more and more aggressive. As I said, I think I’m taking away a lot of positive things from this game, even though we weren’t in our greatest form.
Avdija on what the Blazers were able to do and not do against Wembanyama:
He had a good game today. He shot the 3 really good, but there was nothing that we couldn’t really not do. We broke the paint, he’s a good rim protector, but I feel like we played our game. We just didn’t make shots today.
Avdija on the team’s biggest lesson from the game:
Our biggest lesson is we gotta be more focused and sharper on the defensive end. Box out. Be more physical, especially with Victor. It’s gonna be alright.
Scoot Henderson
Scoot Henderson on the team’s biggest lesson from the game:
I feel like something that we learned is every possession matters. … Going into this game, we knew that it’s a possession game in the playoffs, so we just gotta realize that in the midst of the battle.
Henderson on why the Spurs had success in the minutes Wembanyama was on the bench:
I think they were just moving it. It’s tough for anybody to play against a team that’s well-oiled, playing fast, getting stops, they’re at their home arena. So I think all that kinda goes into runs. It’s a game of runs, as well all know. But I feel like sometimes we can stop some of those, for sure. With him on the floor, without him on the floor, we just gotta be more aggressive. I’m telling everybody, ‘Hit ‘em. Hit everybody. If they’re rolling down, hit ‘em.’ I think that’s something that we gotta continue to do in this series.
Henderson on his individual performance in Game 1:
I feel like I could be more aggressive. I feel like I can get downhill, I can still continue to try to make plays. And then defensively, I feel like there’s something more in the tank that I still have to keep digging for, but it’s there. I know it’s there. I think my team needs it out of me to kinda just dig deeper, so that’s what I’m gonna do the next few games.
On if the Spurs’ momentum-killing run in the third quarter felt like a “welcome to the playoffs moment”:
Nah. They ain’t been in [the playoffs] in a minute either, to be fair. I think it’s just another basketball moment, a ‘game of runs’ moment, if anything. … We can’t get too happy, can’t never get too high, get too low. If we start doing good, we always gotta just stay on our 10 toes and be ready for the next possession.
The next possession in the Blazers-Spur series will come on Tuesday in San Antonio. Game 2 tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PDT.
