Spurs eliminate Trail Blazers in Game 5
- San Antonio beat Portland 114-95 on Tuesday night in Game 5, closing the first-round series 4-1 and sending the Spurs to the West semifinals. - De'Aaron Fox scored 21 points and nine assists, while Victor Wembanyama added 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in the clincher. - San Antonio is the West’s second team through and will face Denver or Minnesota next. (nba.com)
The San Antonio Spurs ended Portland’s season Tuesday night, beating the Trail Blazers 114-95 in Game 5 to win the series 4-1. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) San Antonio is the second Western Conference team to advance, after Oklahoma City completed a first-round sweep of Phoenix on Monday, April 27. (cbssports.com) (nba.com) De'Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 21 points and nine assists in the clincher. Victor Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. (foxsports.com) (nba.com) The series was San Antonio’s first playoff series win since 2017, according to the league’s series page. The Spurs were the No. 2 seed, and Portland entered as No. 7 after coming through the play-in field. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) Portland stole Game 2 to tie the matchup 1-1, but San Antonio took the next three games by 12, 21 and 19 points. The Spurs averaged 112.4 points across the five games, while the Blazers averaged 100.0. (nba.com) Wembanyama’s return in Game 4 helped put the series out of reach. After missing Game 3 with a concussion, he came back Sunday, April 26, with 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in a 114-93 win in Portland. (espn.com) San Antonio now waits on the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves series, which Minnesota leads 3-2 entering Game 6 on Thursday, April 30. The winner will draw the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. (cbssports.com) (nba.com) For Portland, the loss ends a postseason run that started in the play-in and pushed the franchise back into the playoff bracket. For San Antonio, the bracket is finally moving again. (cbssports.com) (nba.com)
