San Antonio got back on track without Victor Wembanyama in a 120-108 win over Portland. Here's what the Spurs can take away moving forward.
In their first full game this postseason without Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs showcased their resiliency with a 120-108 win on the road in Portland over the Trail Blazers.
The hometown squad had the Spurs on the ropes throughout, but the higher-seeded team pulled out the victory and now reclaims the series advantage at 2-1.
While Wembanyama's return seems imminent, as he traveled with the team to Portland and took part in shootaround on Friday, San Antonio cannot become complacent.
Here are the keys to continuing their success and capturing their first series victory since 2017, with or without Wemby.
Share The Wealth, Wherever It Comes From
It is no shocker to say that there are gaps to fill in the absence of Wembanyama, but it allows San Antonio to find support in a variety of places.
In Friday's Game 3 win, the Spurs had two scorers combine for a whopping 60 points. One half of the duo makes sense in their second star, Stephon Castle. However, rookie Dylan Harper served as his counterpart in a somewhat unusual outing.
San Antonio has prided itself on its depth all season long, exemplified by their Sixth Man of the Year award winner in Keldon Johnson. It was not a major issue in their prior loss but Friday was definitely a step-up effort.
Portland does not seem to be going away after its most recent loss, so San Antonio needs to continue to be unselfish and allow each and every Spur to have a chance to impact the game, even if their leader steps back onto the court in Game 4.
Keep Cashing In From 3-Point Land
Heading into Game 3, one of the major points of improvement for San Antonio was long-range shooting.
The Spurs were atrocious, to put it plainly, in their 3-point efforts in their previous matchup, as they finished at 29 percent.
Fast forward to Friday and the team found their shots once again, going 16-of-33 from beyond the arc. San Antonio technically shot better from downtown than the rest of the field, with a 48 percent rate on 3-pointers compared to 47 percent on field goals.
The hot-shot for the Spurs was Harper, who knocked down four of his five threes as a part of his 27-point effort.
It's been said before that San Antonio's identity is far from a heavy shooting team, yet the Spurs success appear to hinge on making the most of its deep chances.
Defense, Defense and More Defense
Despite being the seventh-seed in the Western Conference, Portland has lethal scorers throughout the lineup and has shown its ability to ignite throughout the series.
For the first time in their clash, San Antonio did not surrender a 30-point game to any Trail Blazer. However, it got extremely close with Jrue Holiday going for 29 on the night.
While stopping everyone has proven to be a tall task, even when Wembanyama was on the floor, San Antonio has thrived off limiting these performances.
Turnovers have also been a huge benefit for the Spurs, especially on Friday, with 23 of the team's points coming off 11 Blazers turnovers.
Game 3 was arguably the worst defensive performance of the series, with five Blazers going for double figures. However, San Antonio still came out on top. With a refresh on defense, the Spurs could easily end the series in the next two games.
Facing a scary past few days, San Antonio saw its fortunes change with a crucial victory ahead of the return of its leader sooner rather than later. The Spurs will look for a pivotal 3-1 lead in Game 4 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.