Game 3 winners in series that are tied at 1-1 go on to win the matchup 74% of the time.
SAN ANTONIO — Two statement performances from two Spurs rising stars in either half of Friday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers was the difference in a game that saw San Antonio complete a 16-point comeback and take a 2-1 series lead.
And it was all with Victor Wembanyama on the bench as he navigates the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Jrue Holiday was nearly unmissable from the 3-point line for Portland en route to a 65-59 Trail Blazers lead at halftime, with Castle’s 22 first-half points pacing San Antonio.
Portland pushed its lead to 16 in the third quarter before the momentum swung San Antonio’s way with Holiday resting, thanks to a Spurs bench that came alive and more consistently successful defense. Harper finished with a career-best 27 points, 22 of which came in the second half, as well as 10 rebounds and three assists.
Castle helped bring San Antonio across the finish line. The second-year guard was the offensive engine for much of the game, finishing with 33 points, two rebounds and five assists.
Kornet, starting in place of Wemby, threw down some lobs and finished with a double-double of his own. He had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Holiday led the Blazers with 29 points; Scoot Henderson scored 21 for Portland.
The 2-1 series lead not only guarantees at least two more games in San Antonio, but history is also now on the Spurs’ side. In series tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner goes on to win the matchup 74% of the time.
Game 4 is Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT in Portland
Game blog below.
FINAL: Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108
San Antonio’s young stars put on a show as the Spurs grabbed a statement playoff win, beating Portland while their star Victor Wembanyama sat.
4Q, 2:29 remaining: Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 103
Fox hits two free throws to put his team up 11 after the Blazers go on an 8-0 run to cut it to single-digits.
4Q, 6:14 remaining: Spurs 105, Trail Blazers 95
San Antonio has its largest lead of the game thanks in large part to Dylan Harper, who has already tallied a career-best performance. Castle is approaching 30 points.
End of 3Q: Spurs 88, Trail Blazers 87
De’Aaron Fox has been relatively quiet, but a two-pointer gives San Antonio its first lead since early in the second frame.
3Q, 1:01 remaining: Spurs 83, Trail Blazers 85
A floater by Dylan Harper punctuates a 16-3 San Antonio run, who take advantage of Jrue Holiday’s rest to close the gap against Portland.
Harper’s 17 points are second on the team, behind Castle.
3Q, 2:43 remaining: Spurs 77, Trail Blazers 84
Carter Bryant’s first points of the game, a 3-pointer, brings San Antonio’s deficit back to single-digits as they work to fight back on the road.
The Spurs have the rebounding advantage in the game, but the speedy Blazers have 16 fast-break points to San Antonio’s eight.
3Q, 5:09 remaining: Spurs 67, Trail Blazers 82
Jrue Holiday, a 17-year NBA veteran, continues to pour it on for Portland. His 25 points include a five-of-seven mark from beyond the arc as he continues to weave his way through San Antonio’s defense.
HALFTIME: Spurs 59, Trail Blazers 65
A flurry of action to end the half is punctuated by a Portland trey and subsequent block of a De’Aaron Fox layup at the other end; Portland leads by six points after two quarters.
2Q, 22.1 seconds left: Spurs 58, Trail Blazers 62
De’Aaron Fox picks up his fourth foul and a technical after arguing his case over an offensive foul negating his bucket just ahead of halftime. San Antonio challenges and comes out with a reversed call, handing Fox the bucket.
2Q, 2:29 remaining: Spurs 48, Trail Blazers 56
Portland has its biggest lead of the game as San Antonio misses on some key second-change opportunities.
Carter Bryant is oh-for-four early for the Spurs, but he’s got two blocks in eight minutes of play as he makes the Blazers work on the other end.
2Q, 4:59 remaining: Spurs 45, Trail Blazers 50
Castle’s 16th and 17th points of the games snaps a run for Portland.
2Q, 6:08 remaining: Spurs 43, Trail Blazers 47
Portland’s Jrue Holiday has turned it on in the second quarter, scoring eight of his so-far 17 points in the frame with more than six minutes remaining. San Antonio is shooting 50% to Portland’s 43%, but has just 34 shot attempts to their opponents’ 40.
2Q, 8:40 remaining: Spurs 38, Trail Blazers 35
Castle muscles through for a tough and-one as San Antonio keeps the pressure up on Portland. At 15 points so far, the second-year point guard has nearly equaled his scoring output in Game 2 (18).
2Q, 10:01 remaining: Spurs 34, Trail Blazers 32
A Jrue Holiday 3-pointer snaps a 10-0 San Antonio run as the Silver & Black start the second frame strong.
End of 1Q: Spurs 27, Trail Blazers 29
After one frame, Castle is the only San Antonio player with more than three shoot attempts.
And for good reason: He’s four-of-six with 12 points, two assists and a rebound. The Spurs will need that kind of performance to win the road playoff game without his Area 51 counterpart.
The key statistic so far is that Portland has 11 more shot attempts than the Silver & Black.
1Q, 1:42 remaining: Spurs 23, Trail Blazers 22
A Julian Champagnie 3-pointer puts San Antonio on top for the first time in the matchup.
1Q, 2:58 remaining: Spurs 18, Trail Blazers 20
It’s a battle of young points guards early on in Portland, with Castle and Scoot Henderson combining for 17 points on six-of-11 shooting from the field so far. Both defensive units are also feisty early; Portland is sinking just 35% of its shots and shooting 30% from downtown early.
1Q, 5:22 remaining: Spurs 13, Trail Blazers 15
Scoot Henderson is continuing where he left off in Game 2’s 31-point performance, finding the basket on his first three shots for a quick eight points.
Stephon Castle, too, is hot early with seven points a little over midway through the opening frame. He’s also got an early assist—a lob to Luke Kornet, the 7-footer starting in Wembanyama’s absence. San Antonio is shooting 56% to start the game.
This is a developing story.