Wembanyama's double-double powers
Spurs past Trail Blazers and into Western Conference semifinals
[April 29, 2026]
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and
six blocks, and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in eliminating
the Portland Trail Blazers with a 114-95 victory Tuesday night in
Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
De'Aaron Fox had 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 and Dylan
Harper scored 17 for the Spurs, who led by as many as 28 in winning
their third straight game in the best-of-seven series to advance to
the second round.
“We didn’t want to go back to Portland,” Champagnie said. “That was
kind of the emphasis for the guys on the team. We just didn’t want
to fly back to Portland. It's a four-hour flight. So being up 3-1
and playing at home, it’s a good chance to close it out and not go
back. So, that was all of the motivation we needed tonight.”
San Antonio advances to the Western Conference semifinals for the
first time since 2017, when it beat the Houston Rockets before
losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and then getting swept by
Golden State in the conference finals.
The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver
Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that
series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.
Leonard’s injury and subsequent trade led to a rapid descent in the
Spurs’ fortunes. That futility allowed San Antonio to draft
Wembanyama, and the 7-foot-4 center from France was stellar in
closing out the Blazers.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Portland coach Tiago Splitter said of
Wembanyama's defense. “You've got to do a lot of tricks and try to
set back screens and seals and spin actions. It's not easy, because
he can contest the 3 and the rim at the same time, basically. He's
going to create a lot of problems for a lot of teams for a long
time.”
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San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) goes to the basket as
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, left, and Portland Trail
Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) defend during the second half in
Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San
Antonio, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Portland cut its deficit to 91-82 with eight
minutes remaining following an 11-0 run. But the Spurs stuffed the
rally, including Wembanyama sending Deni Avdija’s floater off the
top of the backboard and into the crowd in the final minutes.
Avdija finished with 22 points, but was 1 for 6 from 3-point
distance as the Trail Blazers shot 23% from long range.
Portland’s Scoot Henderson scored five points. He was limited to 10
points after a skirmish with Harper in the final minute of the third
quarter in San Antonio’s 120-108 win in Game 3 on Saturday.
It was one of several skirmishes during a physical and chippy series
between the second-seeded Spurs and No. 7 seed Trail Blazers.
Coach Mitch Johnson said the Spurs could not afford another early
double-digit deficit as they had in the third and fourth games. San
Antonio responded by charging to a 17-4 start, fueled by a pair of
3-pointers and eight points from Champagnie.
“It’s never perfect, of course, but that’s exactly what we said we
wanted to do before the game,” Wembanyama said.
Champagnie finished 5 for 7 from long distance and San Antonio shot
40% from 3-point territory.
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