Victor Wembanyama put up the highest individual scoring total in the playoffs by a Spur all time tonight, and San Antonio alternated between moments of sheer glory and pangs of growing pains in a game 1 win over Portland 111-98. San Antonio took advantage of the Blazers\u2019 errant shooting outside of Deni Avdija\u2019s laborious efforts to jump ahead by as much as 16 in the first half. The Spurs were blitzed coming out of the half by an opening 8-0 run that brought Portland within two. Devin Vassell, their second-longest tenured veteran, became a man possessed in the third quarter to help San Antonio snag the lead back for good.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama (35 points [5-for-6 from 3], 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Stephon Castle (17 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds) did much of the early labor for San Antonio and De\u2019Aaron Fox (17 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds) ascended later on for the victorious second-seeded Spurs. Vassell\u2019s (15 points and 2 blocks) timely shooting and air defense kept Portland at bay, and Luke Kornet (10 points and 6 rebounds) ensured no dropoff whenever Wembanyama sat. Rookies Dylan Harper (6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assist) and Carter Bryant were mostly neutral in their respective minutes, which was decent enough for their first playoff action.<\/p>\n
Avdija (30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists) steadied the young Blazers through the first 2 1\/2 quarters, while Scoot Henderson (18 points) came on later in the game to make an impact. Toumani Camara played some Bruce Bowen-like defense to pester the younger Spurs. Robert Williams III (11 points and 4 rebounds) and Shaedon Sharpe (10 points) helped the Blazers outscore the Spurs\u2019 bench counterparts in the first half<\/p>\n
The teams – with a smattering of errant shots, choppy execution, and higher acuity of physical contact – struggled from the onset. Avdija scored an early seven, while Castle had five of his own. Portland did the equivalent of a hockey \u2018forecheck\u2019 to keep the Spurs from leaking out on the break, but they struggled from distance outside of a Williams three and Sharpe jumper. The Spurs\u2019 offensive diet was spread out primarily among the non-Champagnie starters with Wembanyama scoring 9 and Castle 7. Johnson matched Avdija\u2019s late jumper with a buzzer-beating three and San Antonio left the period up nine.<\/p>\n
Portland saw more of its outside shots go down at the start of the second and got as close as five. But the Spurs unfurled their pick-and-roll to get Wembanyama two lob slams, while Fox caught fire later. Kornet slammed home beautiful feeds from Fox and Castle to keep the pressure on Portland. Camara drew an outsized number of fouls throughout the half, but Johnson flagged down three of the team\u2019s eight offensive rebounds. Avdija\u2019s and-1 got the Blazers to within seven. Despite Williams\u2019 third dunk of the half and Castle being whistled for his third foul, San Antonio still went to the half up ten.<\/p>\n
Portland drew as close to two of the Spurs with Advija\u2019s teammates initiating an opening 8-0 run. Vassell turned the Spurs\u2019 third quarter from a potential disaster into a personal display of his two-way competitiveness and maturity. More importantly, Julian Champagnie hit a few shots and joined Vassell as the necessary release valves that they had been most of the season. After an Avdija injury, San Antonio kept Portland mostly off the scoreboard and went to the fourth up 87-72.<\/p>\n