Stephon Castle, with 33 points, and Dylan Harper, with 27, led a San Antonio Spurs without Frenchman Victor Wembanyama on Friday in a 120-108 win over Brazilian coach Tiago Splitter’s Portland Trail Blazers that gave them a 2-1 lead in the first-round series of the West playoffs.
The Spurs were down 82-67 in the third period, but managed to rally behind the pace of their young talent in the fourth period, with Castle scoring 11 points.
Castle and Harper lead historic night
Stephon, 21, finished the game with 33 points and 10-of-18 shooting from the field.
Dylan had the best night of his career with 27 points and nine rebounds.
At 20 years old, Harper became the second youngest player to score more than 20 points off the bench in a postseason game.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 18 points and Luke Kornet, who started in Wembanyama’s absence due to a concussion suffered in Game 2, had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Wembanyama caused a scare in the second half of Tuesday’s match.
And, despite not wearing shorts this Friday due to NBA protocol because of head trauma, he supported his teammates from the bench (Filed under: Spurs vs Blazers).
Blazers can’t hold on and Spurs make key comeback
The Blazers, who had evened the series with their valuable 106-103 win in Texas, relished the thought of going up 2-1 against the second-best franchise in the Western Conference, but fell short.
They wasted Jrue Holiday’s 29 points and Scooter Henderson’s 21 on a tough night for Deni Avdija.
He connected only three of his fifteen shots from the field.
Despite that, the Israeli finished with 19 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
Dylan Harper had the best night of his career
QuéOnnda.com
They did not withstand the Spurs’ push, who shot 67.8 percent in the final segment.
The Blazers struggled from three-point range and their one-of-seven from beyond the arc opened the way for the Texans to a momentous road win.
Game 4 of the series between the Spurs and Blazers will be played on Sunday at the same venue.
With information from EFE
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