The San Antonio Spurs spoiled the Portland Trail Blazers’ bid to play in the NBA Cup.
But they couldn’t spoil Tiago Splitter’s homecoming.
And they couldn’t spoil Deni Avdija’s 25th birthday.
The Blazers earned one of their most gutsy and impressive wins of the season Saturday night at San Antonio, edging the Spurs 115-110 before 18,652 at Frost Bank Center.
Playing the finale of a three-game trip and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Blazers (16-20) started hot, finished clutch and flexed plenty of mettle in between, avenging a painful November loss to the Spurs that prevented them from qualifying for the NBA Cup.
“We’re really just sticking together,” Donovan Clingan told reporters after the game. “We’re figuring out what we have to do to win games, what we have to do to play well. And we’re not going off script … we’re listening to coaches. Everyone’s playing for one another and that’s really important.”
The script was an award-winner Saturday, featuring a career-night from Clingan, a birthday bonanza from Avdija, a winning homecoming for Splitter and another clutch performance in clutch time.
The impressive night opened with a hot start, fueled by the lethal long-range shooting of Clingan. The Blazers’ starting center scored Portland’s first 11 points — and nine came on a trio of three-pointers — as he continued to show tangible offensive growth. All of the field goals came off passes from Avdija, who was well on his way to another triple-double.
By the end of the first quarter, Clingan had 14 points, Avdija had six assists and the Blazers sported a surprising 35-24 lead against the second-best team in the Western Conference.
But this is the 2025-26 NBA season and these are the Blazers, so, naturally, the game went down to the wire.
The Blazers extended their lead to 13 points early in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs methodically started seizing momentum and, eventually, turned a runaway Portland win into a coin toss — San Antonio made it a one-possession game four times in the final four minutes.
But the Blazers answered every big Spurs rally with a bigger shot, bigger stop and just enough free throws.
Seemingly everyone wearing a Blazers uniform made a clutch late-game shot — Rayan Rupert, Caleb Love and Kris Murray hit fourth-quarter three-pointers — but Avdija and Camara made the biggest down the stretch.
Camara nailed a timely three with 2:16 remaining to give the Blazers a 111-105 lead and Avdija made a pair of threes over the final 2:44. The last came with 49.6 seconds left, when he swished a step-back shot over Stephon Castle’s outstretched arms to nudge the Blazers’ lead to 114-110.
Love made one of four free throws over the final 22.7 seconds and the Blazers’ defense forced San Antonio into six consecutive misses to end the game, helping Portland sweat out another nail-biting finish. It was the Blazers’ 23rd game this season featuring “clutch-time” minutes — when the score is within five points over the final five minutes — and they improved to 12-10, which includes three consecutive wins.
“We kept our composure most of the time,” Splitter, the Blazers’ acting coach, told reporters after the game. “A couple mistakes, a couple missed free throws again, but we found a way to win the game and get it done.”
Clingan parlayed his hot start into a career night, recording 24 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. The second-year center made 9 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 threes, and finished with career-highs in points and three-pointers. Avdija, meanwhile, was brilliant on his birthday, producing 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while committing just two turnovers. It was the fifth triple-double of his career, including the third this season.
The duo’s eye-popping performances overshadowed an exceptional outing by Toumani Camara, who scored 20 points, snared eight rebounds and made 5 of 9 threes, all while playing solid defense down the stretch.
It helped Splitter — who played five seasons and won an NBA championship with San Antonio — guide the Blazers to a win in his first visit to the city as a head coach.
And now, the shorthanded Blazers, who were without six injured rotation players against the Spurs (25-10), will head back to Portland for a home-heavy January boasting four wins over their last five games.
“This group of guys is showing fight,” Splitter told reporters. “And that’s all I can ask.”