Fox’s fourth-quarter burst sends Spurs past Trail Blazers and into West semifinals
spurs-eliminate-blazers-advance-west-semifinals
San Antonio — De’Aaron Fox poured in 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, guiding the San Antonio Spurs to a 114-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and clinching their Western Conference first-round series in five games.
The win at Frost Bank Center secured San Antonio’s first postseason series triumph since 2017. The Spurs will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets–Minnesota Timberwolves matchup, which Minnesota leads 3-2.
Fox closes it out
San Antonio held a 21-point edge entering the final period, but an 11-0 Portland run trimmed the margin to nine less than four minutes into the quarter. Fox re-entered with 6:17 remaining and immediately scored the Spurs’ next nine points, pushing the lead back to 13 and ending the Blazers’ comeback hopes.
The All-Star guard finished 8-for-14 from the field with nine assists and a steal, accounting for 42 of San Antonio’s points through scoring or passing; teammates converted 9 of 12 shots off his feeds. “We want him to be that closer,” forward Julian Champagnie said. “It’s his world and we’re kind of living in it.”
Hot start, stout defense
Champagnie keyed a blistering opening half by hitting 5 of 7 shots, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, as the Spurs shot 67 percent before intermission, matching their best half of the season.
Rookie guard Stephon Castle and center Victor Wembanyama anchored a defense that limited Portland to 35.1 percent shooting overall and 23.4 percent from deep. Castle held Blazers players to 4-for-13 shooting as the primary defender, while Wembanyama contested 12 attempts, blocking six. Portland made just 19 percent of its shots challenged by the 7-foot-4 rookie throughout the series, during which he totaled 16 blocks.
Wembanyama became the third player since blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74 to average at least 20 points and four blocks over his first four career playoff games, joining Brook Lopez (2013) and Alonzo Mourning (1993).
Series notes
Fox, the NBA’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year in 2022-23, scored 28 points in Game 4, when San Antonio became the first team in postseason history to overcome a halftime deficit of 15 or more and win by at least 15.
“It’s taken a while, but it definitely feels good,” Fox said of advancing. “We felt like we put ourselves in position to win all five of these games.”
The Spurs now turn their attention to the conference semifinals, which will open once the Denver-Minnesota series is decided.
Source: ESPN
