Victor Wembanyama put up the highest individual scoring total in the playoffs by a Spur all time tonight, and San Antonio alternated between moments of sheer glory and pangs of growing pains in a game 1 win over Portland 111-98. San Antonio took advantage of the Blazers’ errant shooting outside of Deni Avdija’s laborious efforts to jump ahead by as much as 16 in the first half. The Spurs were blitzed coming out of the half by an opening 8-0 run that brought Portland within two. Devin Vassell, their
second-longest tenured veteran, became a man possessed in the third quarter to help San Antonio snag the lead back for good.
Wembanyama (35 points [5-for-6 from 3], 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Stephon Castle (17 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds) did much of the early labor for San Antonio and De’Aaron Fox (17 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds) ascended later on for the victorious second-seeded Spurs. Vassell’s (15 points and 2 blocks) timely shooting and air defense kept Portland at bay, and Luke Kornet (10 points and 6 rebounds) ensured no dropoff whenever Wembanyama sat. Rookies Dylan Harper (6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assist) and Carter Bryant were mostly neutral in their respective minutes, which was decent enough for their first playoff action.
Avdija (30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists) steadied the young Blazers through the first 2 1/2 quarters, while Scoot Henderson (18 points) came on later in the game to make an impact. Toumani Camara played some Bruce Bowen-like defense to pester the younger Spurs. Robert Williams III (11 points and 4 rebounds) and Shaedon Sharpe (10 points) helped the Blazers outscore the Spurs’ bench counterparts in the first half
The teams – with a smattering of errant shots, choppy execution, and higher acuity of physical contact – struggled from the onset. Avdija scored an early seven, while Castle had five of his own. Portland did the equivalent of a hockey ‘forecheck’ to keep the Spurs from leaking out on the break, but they struggled from distance outside of a Williams three and Sharpe jumper. The Spurs’ offensive diet was spread out primarily among the non-Champagnie starters with Wembanyama scoring 9 and Castle 7. Johnson matched Avdija’s late jumper with a buzzer-beating three and San Antonio left the period up nine.
Portland saw more of its outside shots go down at the start of the second and got as close as five. But the Spurs unfurled their pick-and-roll to get Wembanyama two lob slams, while Fox caught fire later. Kornet slammed home beautiful feeds from Fox and Castle to keep the pressure on Portland. Camara drew an outsized number of fouls throughout the half, but Johnson flagged down three of the team’s eight offensive rebounds. Avdija’s and-1 got the Blazers to within seven. Despite Williams’ third dunk of the half and Castle being whistled for his third foul, San Antonio still went to the half up ten.
Portland drew as close to two of the Spurs with Advija’s teammates initiating an opening 8-0 run. Vassell turned the Spurs’ third quarter from a potential disaster into a personal display of his two-way competitiveness and maturity. More importantly, Julian Champagnie hit a few shots and joined Vassell as the necessary release valves that they had been most of the season. After an Avdija injury, San Antonio kept Portland mostly off the scoreboard and went to the fourth up 87-72.
Observations
- PLAYOFF BASKETBALL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2548 DAYS!
- Clingan Maneuver: Deep into the third quarter, Donovan Clingan, already a non-factor in the game, was turned away at the rim by Kornet on a dunk try and then Vassell on the next attempt.
- If the top franchise centers can wear their giveaway shirts, everyone else needs to, as well.
- Tirico immediately addressed the colorful palette of giveaway shirts gorgeously Fiesta-ly patterned by section. He’s the best.
- Henderson whined like a teething baby on all of his fouls tonight.
- I’m kinda sad that NBC doesn’t use the Frost Bank / downtown San Antonio backdrop as part of its arena backgrounds on the cutaways from action. Even Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center gets some love on those commercial breaks.
- Kelly Olynyk turned 35…. and future Austin Spurs coach by 2030. Mainly on the strength of those ankle socks.
- Keldon’s Kitchen: His first attempt looked slow and mechanical, but under the pressure of the first quarter clock, his next one looked pure.
- Devin’s Deeds: He hounded Jerami Grant multiple times on the same possession late in the opening frame and Bryant deflected the Blazer’s ensuing pass attempt.
- Sequence of the Game #1: At the start of the second, Harper ran an impressive pick and roll up the right side with Wembanyama and managed to throw a lob to the center with his left hand (going away from his body – it’s hard to do it with your strong hand).
- Sequence of the Game #2: After forcing a long Blazer miss partway through the second, Fox took the carom and sent it 50 feet up the floor to Champagnie who patiently scooted crosscourt and spoonfed Vassell for a catch-and-shoot three to put San Antonio up 10.
- Sequence of the Game #3: Partway into the third quarter, and right after Tirico said “Vassell, he’s EVERYWHERE on the floor,” the veteran guard hit a transition wing three to put the Spurs back up 11. This came after two emphatic blocks and a noticeable jump in his involvement on both ends.
Game Rundown
Wembanyama and Avdija missed their first shots from the tip, but produced quickly from there. Castle banked in his first jumper and his first triple followed after. Henderson’s three put the Blazers up three. Wembanyama put Advija in the spin cycle for a gorgeous lay-up – which caused Tim Duncan and David Robinson to shake their heads – and hit a pull-up three moments later. The teams remained glued to 21-15 over several possessions, and Johnson pestered Advija into an airball. Fox’s stepback three put the Spurs up nine. Wembanyama impressively blocked Sharpe’s floater, but was called for a loose-ball foul on the follow through. Despite Avdija putting up over half of his team’s points, Johnson’s buzzer-beating three got San Antonio to 30-21.
Camara and Sharpe made a mini-run to slice into the Spurs’ advantage to start the second. Two Wembanyama lob dunks followed by a Harper lay-up kept it a three-possession game. With Wembanyama lurking everywhere, the Spurs forced Portland into a shot-clock violation. Jumpers from Vassell and Fox offset Avdija’s scoring, and Fox’s previous make gave him room to set up a nice lob to Kornet. Fox’s transition three put the Spurs up 14. Kornet wrestled an errant Castle miss and gutted home a floater over three Blazers. A pair of Williams dunks brought the Blazers within ten. Coach Johnson challenged a questionable offensive foul call on Castle (knee-to-knee with Holiday) in the final 90 seconds and it was unsuccessful – also costing Castle a third foul. San Antonio held a tenuous 59-49 advantage at the half.
Henderson sandwiched a transition lay-up and triple around a Holiday three, and Portland quickly shrunk the deficit to two. A Castle lob dunk was the only field goal over 4+ minutes of the third for San Antonio. Despite that futility, Portland was unable to tie or take the lead. Fox was the first Spur to attack Avdija on the defensive end to draw the Blazer’s first foul. Champagnie slapped away a transition pass and received a skip pass to hit his first three. Vassell had a turbocharged handful of minutes on both ends, while Kornet had a powerful presence with Wembanyama resting, to help San Antonio get its lead back into double digits. Avdija and Williams awkwardly collided with each other, and San Antonio used the last three minutes to extend its lead to 15.
For the Blazers fan’s perspective, please visit Blazers Edge.
San Antonio hosts Portland for game 2 on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM CDT (note the earlier tipoff) on NBA / Peacock.
