For the first time since the Portland Trail Blazers made the NBA Playoffs in 2021, back when Terry Stotts still roamed the Moda Center sidelines and Neil Olshey sat in the big chair, the franchise played
a game with stakes on Wednesday night.
The Blazers faced the San Antonio Spurs with a chance to punch their ticket to the NBA Cup quarterfinals with a win. Forces seemed to be trending their direction. The Blazers were hamstrung by injuries — still without Jrue Holiday and others — but they got to play the Spurs without the supernatural Victor Wembanyama and starting guard Stephon Castle. They got the matchup at home, riding the momentum of a 2-1 road trip. And Portland star Deni Avdija erupted for 37 points on 63.2% shooting and eight assists.
Instead of seizing this golden opportunity, the Blazers wilted in the fourth quarter on their way to a 115-102 loss. With it, they let that great Deni performance and their Cup chances slip away.
“This is a game you won’t forget just because of how much it stung,” Blazers center Donovan Clingan said.
While fan perspectives may vary on the significance of the NBA’s nascent in-season tournament, Clingan’s postgame words and demeanor reflected a common sentiment in Portland’s locker room after the loss: This moment mattered to these players.
“We wanted it,” Avdija said. “We wanted that game.”
The win would’ve completed Portland’s improbable escape out of Group C, rising above “the Group of Death” gauntlet of Denver, Houston, Golden State and San Antonio. For a young team yet to make the postseason, the feat would’ve been a nice boost and a marker of their perseverance through a difficult November. Now Wednesday’s game amounts to another tough loss and lesson in an early season full of both as the Blazers wade through growing pains and health issues.
“There’s a lot of young guys on our team, and they’re learning how to win and how to compete in those moments, every possession,” Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter said.
“I think it was a disappointing loss but it was a good loss for us to learn because we’re going to be in those positions in the future, and I feel like it’s good for us,” added Avdija, who said the game was the team’s first taste of a Playoff-like atmosphere. “Obviously, we wanted to win, but [it was] definitely a good test for us for years to come.”
In a season where Avdija is garnering All-Star buzz, the 6-foot-8 forward ascended to even greater heights against San Antonio. The Spurs defense had no answer for him in the paint to start the game, and he bulldozed his way to 18 first-half points. Then he went wild from outside, knocking down four second-half 3s to finish 5-8 from deep in the game. The performance wasn’t without blemishes (six turnovers, 8-14 on free throws), but Avdija put his teammates on his back and almost willed them to a win. He also produced several star-type plays that screamed confidence: quick-release 3-pointers; a behind-the-head, no-look pass that moved on a string; a 1-on-3 fast break where he raced down the floor and dunked it in Julian Champagnie’s face.
“He’s an All-Star,” Clingan said about Avdija. “He’s taking his game to a whole new level — 37 points, eight assists, six rebounds. It just shows that he’s really starting to do everything.”
The problem was Avdija didn’t get much help. Forward Jerami Grant was the second Blazers player to reach double-figures in scoring, and he didn’t cross that threshold until 6.6 seconds remained in the third quarter. Outside of Avdija, the rest of the Blazers went 4-28 from beyond the arc, including a 2-11 mark from Toumani Camara. Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko, the two-way contract heroes from Portland’s rousing Cup win in Golden State last Friday, combined for just four points on 1-8 shooting. Guard Shaedon Sharpe returned after a four-game absence due to a right calf strain, but his production (11 points, five rebounds) wasn’t enough to tip the scale as he tried to regain his rhythm on a minutes restriction.
But more important than the lack of offense, Splitter said San Antonio beat Portland at its own game. The Spurs won the offensive rebounding battle 20-12 and the turnover battle 18-9, helping them attempt 14 more shots than the Blazers.
“It’s not about offense,” Splitter said. “It’s not. It’s about our defensive rebounding. I think that’s where we lost the game.”
Then there was free throw shooting. With the Blazers still within striking distance for much of the fourth quarter, Avdija uncharacteristically missed six free throws — part of a 19-30 performance from the line as a team — and the Blazers’ Cup dreams fizzled away.
No quarterfinals. No potential trip to Las Vegas. That opportunity has come and gone for the Blazers. They’ll try to take in this experience so they can rise to the occasion the next time a meaningful game comes their way.
“We’re not experienced in the Playoffs yet, but I definitely can see the potential of this team, and we’re so young, man, it’s so fun,” Avdija said. “Even when we lose, it’s just fun playing with the guys. I don’t feel like we’re getting destroyed like I have experienced in years past. We’re fighting. Everybody wants to win. Everybody’s on a string. And that’s what makes this team special, even if we lose. I’m happy with the way we’re losing because we’re learning and we’re growing.”
