Trail Blazers welcome back Shaedon Sharpe in loss at Spurs

The Portland Trail Blazers failed to capitalize on Shaedon Sharpe’s return Thursday night at the San Antonio Spurs, losing 118-105.

Sharpe came off the bench and scored 13 points, but his presence wasn’t enough for the Blazers to overcome a poor three-point shooting night and the Spurs’ balanced scoring.

Portland shot 47.7% from the field, but hit just 9 of 32 on three-point attempts (28.1%).

“I just felt like we kind of chased our tails the whole game,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters at the Frost Bank Center. “I really did. We never really got ourselves into a rhythm.”

Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant each scored 21 points to lead the Blazers, who also received 19 points and seven assists from Anfernee Simons.

No one in the Spurs reached the 20 points mark. But eight of the 10 players who saw minutes before mass substitutions occurred with less than 30 seconds left scored in double figures.

Guards Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham each scored 17 points. Center Victor Wembanyama added 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

“I thought we did a good job with him,” Billups said of Wembanyama. “I really did. We changed who was guarding him. We did a few things … He’s the kind of player that even if you do a good job on him, he’s going to try to make the right pass. He’s not going to overshoot , because you did a good job on him.”

San Antonio’s bench scored 61 points compared to 31 for the Blazers.

“Their bench was just incredible,” Billups said.

The Spurs shot 16 of 29 from three-point range (41.0%) and 44 of 82 from the field (53.7%) while producing 35 assists.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

The Blazers (3-6) blew an opportunity to pick up a win before facing Minnesota in three of their next four games with Memphis in the middle.

The Spurs (4-5) were without coach Gregg Popovich, who suffered a health scare Saturday.

SHARPEN BACK

Sharpe, in his first action of the season after being sidelined with a shoulder injury, shot 6 of 9 from the field for 13 points and also had two rebounds and an assist in 20-plus games.

“I thought Shaedon played really well,” Billups said. “He looked pleasant.”

BANTON GIANTS

Blazers guard/forward Dalano Banton played before the fourth quarter and it didn’t go well.

Banton played only the fourth quarter during the Blazers’ previous two games in Phoenix and New Orleans, producing 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting (81.3%) in just under 24 minutes.

For the Spurs, Banton first entered the game in the first quarter, playing 16 minutes, 20 seconds, but scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting.

NEXT UP

The Blazers conclude their road trip with a Friday at 18:00 at Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3).