Spurs eliminate Trail Blazers with Game 5 win, advance to next round
- San Antonio beat Portland 114-95 on Tuesday in Game 5, winning the first-round series 4-1 and reaching the Western Conference semifinals. - Victor Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, while De'Aaron Fox scored 21 as the Spurs never trailed. - San Antonio’s first playoff series win since 2017 sends it to Denver-Minnesota next. (nba.com)
The San Antonio Spurs closed out the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday night in Game 5 and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals. (nba.com) Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, and De'Aaron Fox added 21 points in a game San Antonio led from the opening minutes. (nba.com) Julian Champagnie scored 19 points, Dylan Harper added 17, and the Spurs pushed the lead to 28 while winning their third straight game of the series. (nba.com) The series ended 4-1 for the No. 2-seeded Spurs over the No. 7-seeded Trail Blazers. San Antonio averaged 112.4 points across the five games, while Portland averaged 100.0. (nba.com) For San Antonio, the result ended a long playoff drought. The Spurs had not won a postseason series since 2017, when they reached the Western Conference finals. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Portland’s top scorer in the series was Deni Avdija at 22.2 points per game, but the Blazers dropped the final three games after splitting the first two. (nba.com) The closeout also settled San Antonio’s next opponent: the Spurs will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves series, which Minnesota leads 3-2. Game 6 in that series is scheduled for Thursday, April 30. (nba.com) San Antonio opened the series with a 111-98 home win, lost Game 2 by three points, then took control with wins of 120-108, 114-93 and 114-95. (nba.com) By Tuesday night, the Spurs had turned a tight matchup into a five-game finish. They are back in the second round for the first time in nine years. (nba.com)
