On Friday, the San Antonio Spurs showed how much fight their young hearts have with a 120-108 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
With Victor Wembanyama still recovering from a concussion and unavailable for the game, the Silver and Black found a way to take the series lead 2-1 and put the Blazers on their heels, especially with the possibility of Wemby returning to the court for Game 4 on Sunday.
Last year’s Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 33 points and five assists, but it was one of the Spurs’ newest rookie talents, Dylan Harper, who delivered a huge spark off the bench and ended the game with career-highs in points (27) and rebounds (10).
Here are some of the highlights that got fans on their feet during the hard-fought win.
Harper scored the most points in a postseason game by a Spurs rookie since Tim Duncan 28 years ago. He also became the second youngest player to score 20+ points off the bench in a playoff game. The youngest: Kobe Bryant.
Tensions rose on the court between Harper and Scoot Henderson. The Blazers guard picked up a technical foul near the end of the third quarter after he scored on Harper and started jawing at him a bit too much. After the game, Prime Video’s Candace Parker said the tech might’ve been the turning point that lit a fire under the Spurs.
Sportswriter Bill Simmons posted on social media that it’s probably not a good idea to talk trash to Harper, especially if that kind of performance is how he’s going to respond. Just like the Incredible Hulk, you don’t want to get him angry.
Speaking of that Harper performance – it included this ridiculous slam on Blazers big man Robert Williams III. Where can we purchase that poster?
Along with things getting a bit chippy between Harper and Henderson, there was some more physicality between Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox and Deni Avdija that ended with the Blazers forward on the receiving end of a chipped tooth. To add insult to injury, Fox was initially called for an offensive foul, but after Spurs coach Mitch Johnson challenged the call, it was switched to a foul on Avdija. Maybe Avdija can pull off a hockey player’s smile. Jim Carrey does it well in Dumb and Dumber.
With Wemby on the bench, Spurs backup big man Luke Kornet got the start and put up a solid double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. One of those baskets was a corner three at the end of the first quarter, which marked Kornet’s first three pointer of the season and the first since joining the Spurs. Hey Sean Elliott, we jest, but perhaps Kornet is the new Mr. 100% since he’s literally shooting 100% from behind the arc.