Spurs Complete Comeback Over Trail Blazers, Take Game 3 Without Victor Wembanyama

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers made clear their mission a day prior to tipoff. They wanted to be the most physical team in the gym.

"Who ever is the most physical," Deni Avdija explained, "that team's going to win."

Coming off a Game 2 victory in which San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama suffered a concussion, Portland rode a high it hoped to replicate Friday night, especially after learning the Frenchman, navigating the NBA's mandated concussion protocol, was out.

It didn't account for the young players hoping to fill the 7-foot-4 hole.

Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper combined for 60 points in the Spurs' 120-108 victory over the Trail Blazers that secured a 2-1 series lead. They became the second duo in NBA history, age 21 or younger, to each score 25-plus points in the same playoff game, joining Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook during their time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"They were driving and kicking," Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter said postgame. "They made shots. We tried to get to the rim, but we were not efficient. Not our best night."

Apr 24, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) shoots the ball over San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) during the first half during Game 3 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. | Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

Castle led the way with 33 points while shooting 10-for-18 from the field. Harper, meanwhile, logged 27 points on 75 percent shooting from the field, joining an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant as the second-youngest player to score at least 20 points off the bench in a playoff game.

"He's a dawg," Castle said postgame on the Prime broadcast while standing on the court at Moda Center. "He's super special, I'm happy he's with us."

On defense, Luke Kornet and Carter Bryant led the charge for San Antonio, holding Avdija to a series-low 3-for-15 shooting clip from the field. Scoot Henderson, who connected on five 3s for the second game in a row, picked up the slack with Jrue Holiday, who led Portland in scoring with 29 points. Still, it wasn't enough to hold its second-half 15-point lead.

“This loss hurts," Holiday admitted postgame, "but we’ve got another one Sunday, so you can’t really hang your hat on it too low ... tomorrow, we’ve got to get back to work.”

Harper admitted to sensing a lack of energy from his teammates as they struggled to generate offense. His job, put simply, was to rejuvenate them.

At that point, the Spurs began to battle their way back into the contest.

“We worked the game," Johnson said, citing downhill offensive attacks and ball movement. "We just stayed with it … we started getting incremental things going our way.”

Apr 24, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) reacts after being called for a foul against the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half during Game 3 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. | Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

By the time San Antonio took its first lead late in the third quarter, it never fell behind by more than two points again. Eventually, it built up its own 15-point lead that proved insurmountable for Portland; the massive turnaround came at no surprise to the Spurs.

"We have a lot of confidence in ourselves," Castle said. "We know how good we are. We have a lot of dawgs on our team who ain’t going to quit. That’s what you saw tonight.”

The Spurs, now with a 2-1 series lead, will remain in Portland until Sunday's Game 4, when it has a chance to ride a win back to San Antonio for an elimination game.

They hope not to make a return trip to Oregon, if they can help it.

Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round between the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers from Moda Center is set for 2:30 p.m. Central Sunday afternoon on ESPN.

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