De’Aaron Fox clinched a road and NBA Cup win for San Antonio by scoring the final eight points. The Spurs, holding onto a 107-99 lead, escaped a potentially calamitous sequence that started with a clear-path foul call on Kelly Olynyk but ended with two (out of a handful of) missed Deni Avdija free throws and a successful Spurs challenge.
The Spurs leveraged huge scoring nights from Fox and Devin Vassell to claim the last three periods. After missing his burst and ballhandling, San Antonio welcomed back its rookie Dylan Harper (7 points and 2 steals) after 11 games. Though the teams were never separated by more than two possessions throughout a highly competitive first half, San Antonio managed to wrangle the lead away from the Blazers for good with Fox’s brilliance, 20 offensive rebounds and getting timely production from Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and a bevy of unsung contributors.
De’Aaron Fox (37 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) maintained his consistently stellar production since returning from injury for the visiting Spurs and Vassell (23 points and 6 rebounds) cemented his second-banana status. Keldon Johnson (11 points and 10 rebounds) again shined off the bench. Julian Champagnie (12 points and 11 rebounds) earned his double-double over the taller and bulkier Portland frontline.
Deni Avdija (37 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds) built upon his strong Most Improved Player candidacy by being the confident fulcrum of Portland’s offense until those crucial fourth quarter moments while Shaedon Sharpe (11 points) provided a hot touch in support of the starters. The Blazers received balance scoring throughout their roster - Jerami Grant (13 points), Toumani Coumara (10 points), and Robert Williams III (10 points) rounding out the handful of double-digit scroers.
Avdija excelled in the lead role for much of the first quarter - tallying nine points, while Vassell came out of the gate intent to find his stroke. Kornet willed home an alley-oop and knocked down a floater, while several bench players - Jeremy Sochan, Carter Bryant, and Lindy Waters III - helped San Antonio catch the Blazers. Sharpe returned from injury to put up a handful of points quickly. Despite Fox going o-for-the-quarter, a wildly entertaining opening frame ended with Portland only up one.
While the Spurs continued to share the ball well into the second, they could not find an outside touch outside of Harper’s three. Avdija was not fazed by any defender on him and ran his total well into double-digits. His counterpart, Vassell, countered with a couple of difficult makes himself, while Fox started knocking down makeable shots to edge San Antonio closer to the hosts. Once Fox took over the shotmaking reins, his 7-0 run helped the Spurs catch Portland and go to halftime up 56-54.
The teams came out of the break trading blows. Fox intiated the offense from his favored spots in the paint and beyond the arc to help the Spurs get back into the lead. Despite Clingan making his presence known near both baskets, San Antonio relied on its veterans to turn the tables on the Blazers. Advija proved to be the only viable threat over the remaining minutes of the third, and Portland made it a one-possession game. Vassell’s pull-up three (reminiscent of Tracy McGrady’s memorable game-winner against San Antonio) created a five-point cushion.
Observations
Happy birthday Carter Bryant! He checked in late in the opening stanza - nabbed a steal, and then gave it away in transition. #rookie
11 brief things that I’m thankful for: Frank Kornet for making Luke, watching Harper in person at summer league, Keldon morphing into the grizzled career-long vet on the team, Castle being the fearless player he is, seeing so many teams below the Spurs in the standings, J.R. Wilco for letting me tryout for PtR in 2018, Chinese food places being open late on Thanksgiving eve AND Thanksgiving(!), Carter Bryant playing time, Fiesta unis in 25-26, my DVR recording ALL NBA and NFL games, and WEMBY.
Kris Murray’s shot form looks way different than his brother Keegan’s.
When Jacob Tobey and Danny Green work together, it should be called the Jacob and Danny Show.
The NBA cup court looks like it belongs in San Antonio.
Green referred to Williams III’s nickname as ‘Landlord’ and Tobey quickly corrected it to ‘TimeLord.’ ‘Landlord’ sounds like a great nickname, though.
After Cidy Cissoko stepped out while intiating a dribble-drive (the Lonnie Walker IV special), Green noted that this was something that he had to work on during his playing days.
Dylan’s Driving: His deliberate and meandering pace caused his and Sochan’s defenders to collapse on him in the second period, and he found his teammate with two dime opportunities (which were thwarted by Sochan’s misses). During crunchtime, Harper took it coast-to-coast for a two-handed slam.
Keldon’s Kitchen: Offensive rebound monster.
Sequence of the Game #1: Sochan grabbed an errant carom late in the first quarter, and threw down a power dunk. Moments later, he deflected a pass which bounced off of a Blazer player for a turnover.
Sequence of the Game #2: Late in the opening half, Champagnie impressively swatted away a Clingan attempt the rim, and Fox located an open Harrison Barnes deep in the corner for a swish #Mr100
Sequence of the Game #3: Early in the second half, Vassell was gifted an errant pass from Grant, and took it straight to the rim for a one-handed throwdown.
Game Rundown
From the tip, Vassell looked like prime DeRozan with two quick buckets. Avdija put up a handful of points to stake Portland to an early advantage, as the Blazers had their way with San Antonio on offense. In honor of Green, Champagnie had a nice catch-and-shoot three from above the break. Vasssell’s third straight make tied things at 14. Avdija kickstarted a 6-0 run which included a highlight dunk. Former UConn big Donovan Clingan kept a handful of possessions alive on the boards, while his teammate Sharpe knocked down his first two shots. The teams took turns grabbing a hold of the lead before Portland left the period up 30-29.
Jerami Grant started things in the second with a vicious dunk over two Spurs. Johnson had a nice spin dribble and and-1 to even things at 34. Harper’s first bucket since returning was a corner three, but his two dishes to Sochan were unsuccessful as the forward’s shots squibbed off the rim. Sochan also missed three VERY WIDE OPEN threes. Avdija continued to score poitns at will, and his shotclock-beating three put the Blazers back up six. The referees missed a very blatant goaltend on the Blazers, and Williams III scored at the other end. Fox’s pull-up in transition brought San Antonio within four. Fox crossed over Grant and hit a stepback three to put the Spurs up two heading to the half.
Cissoko willed home a wild floater and got an and-1 to boot. Barnes’ floater and three followed by Vassell’s transition dunk put San Antonio back up four. However, the Spurs dangerously picked up four team fouls in only 3.5 minutes. Undeterred, Fox knocked down a three, stole an outlet pass, and gritted a lay-up over Cissoko. The massive Clingan overwhelmed Kornet over several possessions for a handful of points. Champagnie’s tip-in put the Spurs up nine. Kelly Olynyk hesitated on a three attempt and got blocked, then Avdija hit one over the Spurs’ center. After Avdija quit on a possession, Johnson delivered a facial over the Blazer at the other end to make it 81-71. Avdija initiated a late 15-5 run that was offset by shotclock-beating buckets from Fox and Vassell. On the strength of a late three from Vassell, the Spurs headed to the fourth up 91-86.
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San Antonio’s road trip against Western Conference playoff titans continues Friday night at 8:30 PM with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.