Victor Wembanyama is the first player since Patrick Ewing in 1994 to have consecutive double-doubles and 6 or more blocks in the playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs left no doubt. Well, perhaps a smidgen of doubt. Whatever glimmer of hope the Portland Trail Blazers carried into Game 5 on Tuesday, the Spurs tried extinguishing it with an onslaught of scoring and defense right from the opening tip.
San Antonio led by 10 early in the first quarter, by 20 early in the second quarter and were up 28 late in the second. It looked like the Spurs were going to waltz their way to a series-clinching victory. Portland didn’t let that happen, making the score closer than the Spurs wanted in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs finished the job, defeating the Trail Blazers 114-95 and winning the first-round Western Conference series 4-1.
It was the first series victory for Victor Wembanayama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant and De’Aaron Fox.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, who replaced Basketball Hall-of-Famer Gregg Popovich following Popovich’s health issues, also recorded his first playoff series victory.
It was also San Antonio’s first series win since 2017.
Now, the Spurs await the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Denver Nuggets series, which Minnesota leads 3-2.
1. Spurs’ offensive versatility on display
In the first half, eight Spurs had at least five points and only Julian Champagnie hit double figures. Castle and Harper each went 4-for-5 from the field for nine points in the first half, and Wembanyama had seven points, four rebounds and two blocks at halftime.
In the first half, San Antonio shot 66.7% from the field and 46.7% on 3-pointers.
Six Spurs, including the starters, reached double figures in points led by Fox who had 21 points and nine assists. When the Trail Blazers cut into deficit, Fox took over, scoring 13 in the final quarter to prevent Portland from an improbable comeback.
“He’s done this in his career,” Mitch Johnson said. “He was a Clutch Player of the Year for a reason. He’s in a different situation now, in terms of having the basketball in his hands at that volume every single night in the fourth quarter. He may be as good as any player I’ve ever seen, in terms of balancing how to play off (the ball), and then when to go on it. When he gets on it, he doesn’t mess around, and he gets right to it … He took over the game clearly again tonight.”
Wembanyama finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and three assists, and Harper added 17 points.
Wembanyama is the first player since Patrick Ewing in 1994 to have consecutive double-doubles and six or more blocked shots in the playoffs.
2. A toast to Champagnie
Champagnie had not scored more than nine points in any of the previous four games of the series. He had 14 in the first half, including 11 during a five-minute stretch of the first quarter when the Spurs took control.
Champagnie, who had a season-high 36 points in a victory against the New York Knicks on Dec. 31, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
3. Trail Blazers run into scoring problems
The Blazers scored fewer than 100 points in three of the five games, which is not a complete surprise given the Spurs possessed the league’s No. 3 defense during the regular season.
Portland shot just 35.1% from the field and 23.4% on 3-pointers.
However, The Blazers did not quit in Game 5 and reduced San Antonio’s lead to 91-82 with 8:02 left in the fourth quarter.
“It did feel like we let our foot off the gas,” Mitch Johnson said. “NBA games are long, so that’s not an excuse. That means we’ve got to be better. … There was a stretch there where we needed to be sharper and got to continue to play games like it’s 0-0 every single possession.”
4. What’s next for the Trail Blazers?
All-Star Deni Avdija, veteran Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara and Damian Lillard, who missed this season recovering from an Achilles injury, are all under contract with Portland for next season, giving the Trail Blazers the framework of a solid team in the ultra-competitive West.
Matisse Thybulle and Robert Williams III are free agents, so Portland will need to address frontcourt depth and find additional scoring. It was tied for 27th in 3-point shooting percentage and was 29th in field-goal percentage in the regular season.
The Trail Blazers must fill their head coaching position. Tiago Splitter handled the job on an interim basis and led the Blazers to a 42-40 record and the seventh seed.
Portland does not have a pick in the first or second round of the 2026 NBA Draft.
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
