Spurs advance with Game 5 win

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday, April 28, to win their first-round series 4-1 and move on to the Western Conference semifinals. (nba.com) Victor Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, and the Spurs never trailed in the closeout game at Frost Bank Center. (nba.com) De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points with nine assists, Julian Champagnie added 19, and Dylan Harper scored 17 as San Antonio put six players in double figures. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The Spurs led by 10 early in the first quarter, by 20 early in the second and by as many as 28 before Portland made the score look tighter in the fourth. (nba.com) Wembanyama’s line carried extra weight because he had entered concussion protocol after a face-first fall in Game 2, when Portland stole a 106-103 win to even the series. (nba.com) San Antonio answered that setback by winning three straight games and closing the series at home instead of flying back to Portland for a Game 6. (nba.com) The result gives San Antonio its first playoff series victory since 2017, the year the Spurs reached the conference finals before Kawhi Leonard’s ankle injury against Golden State. (nba.com) It is also the first playoff series win for Wembanyama, Fox, Stephon Castle, Harper, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and coach Mitch Johnson, who replaced Gregg Popovich after Popovich’s health issues. (nba.com) The bracket now sends the No. 2 Spurs into a semifinal against the winner of Denver-Minnesota, with the Timberwolves holding a 3-2 lead in that series as of Wednesday, April 29. (nba.com) (espn.com) San Antonio spent most of Game 5 looking like a team ready for the next round, and Portland spent the night trying to solve Wembanyama at the rim. (nba.com)