Portland had a prime opportunity to get back into its first-round Western Conference playoff series against San Antonio. Instead, the Trail Blazers collapsed at home.
Portland blew a 19-point lead and lost 114-93 to the Spurs in Game 4, falling behind 3-1 in the series. San Antonio is now one win away from the Western Conference semifinals.
Deni Avdija was one of Portland’s few bright spots, finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He was heavily involved in the Trail Blazers’ big first-half run, assisting on a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer, driving to the basket, finding Robert Williams for an alley-oop and showing plenty of poise.
The game also included a tense moment in the fourth quarter, when Stephon Castle taunted Avdija after scoring and pressed the ball into his chest. The two exchanged shoves and were both assessed technical fouls, although Castle clearly initiated the confrontation.
Portland opened the game well, recovering from an early Spurs run and taking a 25-23 lead after the first quarter. In the second, the Trail Blazers looked like a different team. Avdija, Holiday, Jerami Grant and Toumani Camara led a major run, the defense held firm and the shots fell. The lead grew to 19 at 57-38, and Portland went into halftime ahead 58-41 after a dream second quarter that made it look as if the series might be tied.
Then came the collapse.
San Antonio opened the second half with an 11-0 run, quickly pulling itself back into the game and putting Portland under pressure. The Blazers lost their rhythm, missed repeatedly from beyond the arc and saw their big lead nearly disappear. Avdija stopped the run with Portland’s first points of the quarter and later hit a big 3-pointer to make it 74-72, but Victor Wembanyama closed the third quarter with a dunk that tied the game at 74.
In the fourth, the Spurs took over completely. Wembanyama opened the quarter with more dunks, De’Aaron Fox joined in and San Antonio went on a 16-3 run that turned the game around. Portland’s big lead was gone, and the Spurs moved ahead by double digits, 90-77, on their way to a decisive win.
For Portland, the loss was painful not only because of the score but because of how it happened. For one half, the Blazers looked like a team capable of returning to the series. In the second half, they looked like a team that did not know how to respond once the momentum shifted.
Now Portland trails 3-1, with its back against the wall and the feeling that a winnable game slipped away.