Spurs advance to second round, eliminate Trail Blazers with Game 5 win

San Antonio is back in the Western Conference semifinals after beating Portland 114-95 in Game 5 on Tuesday and winning the series 4-1. (espn.com) (nba.com) The Spurs never trailed at Frost Bank Center, opening with a 36-point first quarter and taking a 65-45 lead into halftime. Portland never got closer than nine in the fourth. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) De’Aaron Fox finished with 21 points and nine assists, then scored 13 of those points in the fourth quarter after Portland made its late push. Victor Wembanyama added 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Julian Champagnie helped break the game open early, hitting four of five 3-pointers in the first half as San Antonio shot 67% before the break. The Spurs put six players in double figures. (espn.com) (nba.com) For San Antonio, the result ended a drought that stretched back to 2017, when the franchise last won a playoff series. The Spurs had not reached the conference semifinals since that postseason. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The matchup also showed how quickly San Antonio’s timeline has changed around Wembanyama and Fox. Wembanyama averaged 21.0 points in the series, while Fox closed the clincher as the primary late-game scorer and playmaker. (nba.com) (espn.com) Portland’s top scorer in Game 5 was Deni Avdija with 22 points, and the Trail Blazers finished the regular season 42-40 before earning the No. 7 seed. They stole Game 2 in San Antonio but lost the next three. (espn.com) (nba.com) The Spurs now wait for the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves series, which Minnesota led 3-2 after Tuesday’s games. San Antonio has its first second-round berth in nine years, and no Game 6 is needed. (espn.com) (nba.com)