Home to close, San Antonio Spurs push to end NBA play-off series with Portland Trail Blazers in five

SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama is back in full force, as the San Antonio Spurs head home looking to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers on April 28 (April 29 morning, Singapore time) in Game 5 of their National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference first-round play-off series.

The Spurs claimed a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series on April 26 with a 114-93 come-from-behind victory in Portland. If the Trail Blazers win, they can force a Game 6 at home on April 30.

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points in Game 4, as Victor Wembanyama added 27 points on his return for the Spurs. He sat out the second half of Game 2 and all of Game 3 due to concussion protocol.

San Antonio had trailed by 19 points following a ragged second quarter but dominated after half-time, outscoring Portland 73-35.

“We need to find the answers, you know, before having our back against the wall,” said Wembanyama, who also had 12 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals in the win on April 26.

“But that also shows the strength of our team. In adversity, we stick together, we get closer to each other. We feed off of each other’s energy. There’s no useless drama between us. You know, we thrive when we do the invisible efforts that benefit others.

“There’s no jealousy... Nobody cares about their stat line, so it’s our greatest strength.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson has witnessed a maturation process with his young team that became more evident with the road play-off win. The next step might be the most difficult – closing out the series.

“This gives you a lot of takeaways,” he explained.

“A lot of feedback on things you got to be better on and improve upon, and try to not put yourself in a position when you got to dig yourself out of a hole. We have to continue to balance that attack mentality, starting off games while still anchoring to our fundamentals and discipline of game plan, execution.”

Deni Avdija had 26 points in Game 4 to rebound from his poor shooting in the previous two games. The Trail Blazers will need him on his game along with Scoot Henderson, who had a season-high 31 points in their Game 2 win in San Antonio but missed all seven of his shot attempts on April 26.

A hot start could do wonders for Portland’s confidence following abysmal second-half showings at home.

“We knew they were going to come out and be more aggressive,” Avdija said. “We expected it. I just think coming out at the half, we didn’t make shots, and they went on a run. Suddenly, you look up at the scoreboard, and it’s a closer game.”

Portland coach Tiago Splitter said his team would go back to work to try to find a solution and extend the series.

“I think the guys fought hard,” he said. “In the second half, we mentally kind of like broke down, and then they just came back to the game. Didn’t shoot the ball well, turned over the ball.

“We’ve got to hold our composure and be more present. I tried to, you know, slow down a little bit but couldn’t find a solution. It’s all of us, coaches, players, we all got to be better. We got to win every game that we have in front of us, and we’re going to fight one by one.”

Meanwhile in NBA play-off action on April 27, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder swept into the second round with a 131-122 victory at the Phoenix Suns.

The top-seeded Thunder captured the West series 4-0, completing a third consecutive sweep in the opening round of the play-offs.

The Denver Nuggets avoided an early exit as Serbian centre Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds to spark the hosts to a 125-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who hold a 3-2 lead in the series.

Desmond Bane scored 22 points as the Orlando Magic stunned the Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit Pistons 94-88 to take a 3-1 lead. REUTERS, AFP