The first playoff home game for the Portland Trailblazers since 2021 ended in disappointment as the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs pulled away late—120-108—putting the Blazers in a 1-2 hole in the best of seven series. In a game where the Blazers led by as many as 15 halfway through the third quarter, the Spurs’ stingy defense and hyper-efficient shooting performance from rookie guard Dylan Harper (27 points on only 12 shot attempts; 4-5 from three-point range), and second year guard Stephon Castle (33 points) proved to be too much down the stretch.
The Blazers controlled the game early with stifling defensive performances from Robert Williams III (two LOUD blocks plus many more deflections), Jrue Holiday (four steals), and Toumani Camara (three offensive fouls drawn). Offensively, the Blazers struggled when Holiday and Scoot Henderson, who led the team with 29 and 21 points respectively, were off the court. Deni Avdija, the Blazers’ “all-star,” couldn’t find the net outside of drawing free throws—despite finishing with 19 points, it came at the cost of a horrific 3-15 from the field.
The Blazers offense has long been a slog this season, typically keeping games interesting by drawing their opponents into the muck with them. For two-thirds of the game it looked to be a winning proposition for Portland, as the Spurs’ offense seemed completely stifled by the Blazer defense outside of transition opportunities (thanks to the all too familiar Blazer turnovers) and offensive rebounds. That was until Harper and Castle locked into another gear in the third, erasing a 15 point deficit and giving the Spurs a one point lead going into the fourth.
Though the Spurs came from behind while playing without their superstar Wemby, their run wasn’t strictly ethical hooping. With just under a minute to go in the third, Harper delivered a shameful flop for a foul call, as he acted out being hit in the face by a Scoot Henderson defense. Harper would go on to make both free throws, proof that Ball Occasionally Lie. San Antonio never looked back from there in a mostly non-competitive fourth quarter full of relentless drives by the Spurs guards leading to seemingly endless wide open corner threes. The Spurs finished the game shooting a gaudy 48% from three (16-33).
The Blazers came into Friday hoping for an unlikely series tie with the two-seeded Spurs. After a gutsy victory Tuesday night on the back of Scoot Henderson’s seminal 31 point performance, everything was coming up Blazers. A win last night would have meant the Blazers took control of the series (2-1), putting them in the drivers’ seat to upset the Spurs by simply winning their remaining home games. Now the Blazers still need to win at home, in addition to stealing at least one more win in San Antonio.
The disappointment for Blazers fans hit on many levels. It was a massive opportunity for the Portland underdogs when Spurs’ star center, and unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama was ruled out right before the game, still nursing concussion symptoms after his fall in the Game 2 Blazers win last Tuesday. Despite this, the Blazers’ second year center Donovan Clingan basically was played off the court by the Spurs’ sex negative backup center Luke Kornet.
Fans were disappointed as the Blazers’ new ownership opted to skimp on free playoff t-shirts, punctuated by the Spurs very cool multicolor “fiesta” themed free shirts in Game 1. Even still, fans had the Moda Center rocking. For the first playoff home game in half a decade, Rip City faithful came ready to dole out liberal amounts of boos and “REF YOU SUCK” chants whenever absolutely necessary. That is, armed with some cheapo red hand towels rather than slightly less cheapo polyester shirts. And like helium slowly deflating from a balloon, with just over a minute to go, the Portland crowd filed out with a soft whine as the few San Antonio faithful rose in their seats to gloat.
“I feel bad that we couldn’t bring a W,” said Trailblazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter. “[The fans] brought the energy, they were there with us. “We need [the fans] again Sunday. It’s going to be an early game, so have a cup of coffee before and let’s bring the energy.”
Put into perspective, the Blazers are overachieving, finishing much higher than any national media expectations at the start of the season. Nonetheless, last night felt like a let down. The Blazers blew a golden opportunity, though truthfully an opportunity set up mostly by the other team’s misfortune. The new owner is a cheapskate that made his fortune on subprime auto loans, treating the team as a new avenue to practice DOGE-style cost cutting speculative capitalism, while shaking Oregon taxpayers by the ankles to fund a stadium remodel he can afford.
But in sports, disappointment is something only attainable by those that can hope. For the past five years of losing-on-purpose numbness, hope and disappointment were beginning to feel unfamiliar. There are 30 teams in the NBA, 16 of them make the playoffs every year, but only one wins the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The rest end their season with a loss. The Blazers, more than likely, are one of those other 29 teams still. The Spurs very well could be the team that goes home with the glory of a 25/26 win, though more than likely they aren’t either. The NBA playoffs is the most grueling month of the year. But after half a decade of mediocrity where the Blazers didn’t even sniff a game that matters, a game capable of producing disappointment feels like a relief.
But heck, in a couple days they get another shot at shocking basketball fans like they did last Tuesday. I’m holding onto that hope, but really I’m thankful for another chance at Blazers playoff disappointment.
