San Antonio is moving on to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.
It took two historic come-from-behind efforts for the San Antonio Spurs to escape Games 3 and 4 with wins on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers, but the Western Conference's No. 2 seed carried that momentum into the beginning of Game 5 on Tuesday.
Then, Portland nearly mounted an unprecedented comeback of their own, but the Spurs prevailed for a 114-95 win inside Frost Bank Center to capture their first playoff series since 2017.
San Antonio's win, however ugly it turned out to be after nearly blowing a 28-point lead, is a punctuation to a gentleman's sweep that now pins San Antonio as a true frontrunner to end the season hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Clutch shot-making by De'Aaron Fox helped the Spurs power through the late slippage. The point guard scored 21 points and dished out nine assists. Five other Spurs scored in double figures, including rookie Dylan Harper dropping 17 off the bench and Julian Champagnie finding his stroke from the outside with 19 points off of five 3-pointers.
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Spurs Advance in Wire-to-Wire Game 5 Win
San Antonio built a double-digit lead in the first quarter despite star big man Victor Wembanyama only recording two points on one shot attempt, an uncontested dunk, in the quarter. Champagnie, with 11 points and a trio of 3-pointers, outscored his series average for points per game in the opening 12 minutes as the Spurs made over 60 percent of their shots to start the game.
In the second, the Spurs blew things open and built a lead as large as 26 halfway through the period. San Antonio spread the wealth on offense and got out in transition after stifling defense on the interior. Portland was held below 40 percent shooting, and the perimeter shooting was especially sluggish early as the Blazers were 4-21 from 3-point range in the half.
The San Antonio faithful, dressed in a black-out theme, could taste the victory by the time the Spurs led 65-45 at halftime.
The color scheme metaphorically gave the sense of Portland's funeral ... but the Blazers wouldn't go down without a fight.
By the end of the third quarter, San Antonio had joined Portland in a low-scoring back-and-forth that ultimately became the story of the second half for the home team until Fox caught fire.
Portland cut the deficit to nine points, but each run was met with an answer by Fox.
"He knows how to step up in the right moments, for sure," Wembanyama said of Fox after the final buzzer. "He knows how to share with teammates. He's just versatile."
Overall, the Spurs leaned on their depth, veteran leadership, and some of the best interior defense you'll ever see.
Wembanyama's presence was most felt defensively in the second half. The unanimous Defensive Player of the Year finished with 17 points after putting up just seven shot attempts. He impacted the game elsewhere with 14 rebounds and six blocks that gave San Antonio an impenetrable defense at the rim.
Additionally, as has been the story of much of the series, Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson's production inside helped keep things afloat while Wembanyama rested throughout the first half. Wembanyama missed the second half of Game 2 and the entire Game 3 in Portland while in concussion protocol. He returned in Game 4 to record 27 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, and seven blocks before Tuesday's Game 5.
Wemby, by no means, was near his best offensively against Portland to close the series, but he didn't need to be ... even when the pressure picked up as Portland brought the game back to within single digits midway through the fourth.
That's exactly what makes San Antonio so powerful. When a collective cast of role players can carry the load, or players like Fox can rise to the occasion and take over in crunch time, San Antonio can be just as dangerous when Wembanyama is playing on cruise control as when he's at full throttle.
"We have nothing but confidence in each other, so we take it game by game," said Stephon Castle on ESPN's postgame coverage about the Spurs competing throughout the rest of the playoffs.
Awaiting San Antonio is either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Denver Nuggets. The Wolves lead the series 3-2 as it shifts to Denver for Game 6 on Thursday, but Minnesota will be without Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) and Anthony Edwards (knee), who both suffered injuries earlier in the series.
The Spurs will face either a banged-up Timberwolves team or a Nuggets squad that, despite being led by MVP finalist Nikola Jokic, would need to mount a comeback from being down 3-1 in the series into the second round.
