Portland star Deni Avdija logged the third 40-point outing of his career in the 7\/8 Play-In Tournament contest late on Wednesday to spark its comeback and send the young squad to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season. <\/p>\n
The Trail Blazers last faced the Spurs in the postseason in 2014, when they lost in five games in the second round. The rematch, both sides agree, will be extra physical.<\/p>\n
“They’re a great team,” Avdija said on Prime’s postgame broadcast following Portland’s 114-110 victory. “They’re young, too. It’s going to be a fight … we’ll be ready to play.”<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kp7t091b0vmqrdbhvp.jpg\" "\\"San")
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Nov 26, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) talks with Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) after the Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers 115-102 at Moda Center. | Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
San Antonio has gone 2-1 in three meetings with Portland this season, none of which featured Victor Wembanyama. Meanwhile, Avdija has found ample success against the Spurs, averaging 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and eight assists on 55 percent shooting from the field and 53 percent shooting from 3 in his last three outings.<\/p>\n
Through the end of the regular season, Portland ranks seventh in total rebound percentage and ninth in PACE. The Spurs rank sixth and 12th, respectively.<\/p>\n
While both squads feature a few championship-tested veterans \u2014 Luke Kornet and Harrison Barnes for the Spurs and Jrue Holiday for the Trail Blazers \u2014 a majority of the young talent set to duke it out is without playoff experience. That’s what excites San Antonio most.<\/p>\n
“When I came to San Antonio, they always talked about what it was like when Manu (Gin\u00f3bili), Tim (Duncan) and Tony (Parker) were here,” Devin Vassell said, recalling his early days in the NBA. “It feels like we’re bringing that energy back.”<\/p>\n
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: San Antonio #Spurs<\/a> (#2) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (#7)<\/p>\n Game 1: POR @ SAS | Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Central, NBC<\/p>\n Game 2: POR @ SAS | Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. Central, NBC<\/p>\n Game 3: SAS @ POR | Friday, April 24 at 9:30 p.m. Central, Prime\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n If the Spurs have their druthers, they’ll only need to make one trip to Portland to close out the series. But they know better than to get ahead of themselves.<\/p>\n Instead, they’re focusing on getting healthy and taking in the moment.<\/p>\n “I think we’re ready,” Wembanyama said. “It’s becoming more real \u2014 that we’re actually going to play in the playoffs. I’m excited to play in high-stakes games again.”<\/p>\n Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round between the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers from Frost Bank Center is set for 8 p.m. Central Sunday night on NBC.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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