San Antonio vs. Portland, final score: Spurs ride hot shooting to 118-105 victory over Trail Blazers

The San Antonio Spurs came home looking to get back on track after a two-game losing streak on the road. They caught fire in the Frostbank center when they defeated Portland Trail Blazers 118-105.

The Spurs shot 53.7% from the field and 41% from deep and knocked down 16 three-pointers in the win. They played an up-tempo game and rushed the ball all over the court with 35 assists. Defensively, they got enough stops down the stretch to pull away from the Blazers. Portland had a rough shooting night from deep, hitting just 28.1% of their 32 three-point attempts. They found soft spots in the paint and had some impressive finishes to hold on throughout the game.

San Antonio had a balanced scoring attack, but it was their bench that came up big in the win. The Spurs got 61 points from their second unit, headlined by Malaki Branham and Keldon Johnson, who led the team with 17 points per game. DeAndre Ayton made a killing in the paint as he led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It wasn’t enough to overcome the Spurs’ offensive attack.

San Antonio gets a day off before they face off Utah Jazz Saturday in what could be Devin Vassell’s first game of the season.

Observations

• San Antonio ran flex action to get Wembanyama looks in the middle of the paint. He got himself easy dunks and jumpers, and when Portland outplayed him, he found open shooters. This play was used frequently last season to get Wembanyama or Devin Vassell open. Expect to see more of this action from the Spurs moving forward.
• The Spurs had a balanced offensive attack with 8 players scoring in double figures. There was no shortage of ball movement and cutting leading to open looks all over the field. Although Wembanyama struggled to find its offense, scoring 12 points on 4-13 shooting, the supporting cast picked up.
• Julian Champagnie continues to impress with his shooting. He had 14 points on 4-8 shooting from deep. With Vassell returning to the lineup, Spurs may have just 4 shooters to surround Wembanyama with for the first time in his career. It will be interesting to see how the offense looks with all that floor spacing.
• Branham left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. It was his best game of the season. He attacked the basket with aggression, knocked down three open deep balls and wasn’t a liability defensively. We’ll see how serious his injury is, but it’s hard to lose another goal scorer this early in the season.
• Blake Wesley made an impression without being a threat to shoot it from deep. He was great at pushing the ball in transition and finding open teammates. He finished with 10 points, 8 assists and 2 steals.
• Stephon Castle looks good in the starting lineup. Besides some nasty shots from deep, his offensive game looked much better against Portland. He had 14 points and 6 assists in the win. His strength and finishing ability are a weapon for the Spurs offense, and his floor vision only gets better with the game.