Down 3-1, Blazers Look To Extend Series Versus Spurs Tuesday In San Antonio

Tuesday, April 28 • 6:30 p.m. PT
Frost Bank Center • San Antonio, Texas
TV: ESPN • Radio: Rip City Radio 620 AM
NBA Playoffs First Round Game #5 • Away Game #3

If the Trail Blazers want to extend their first round playoff series versus the Spurs, let alone advance to the next round, they'll need to do something Tuesday night in San Antonio that they were unable to do last weekend in Portland.

After dropping both Game 3 and 4 at Moda Center, the Trail Blazers now find themselves down 3-1 to the Spurs in the two/seven matchup of the Western Conference Playoffs. They'll have a chance to send the series back to Portland, but to do so, they'll have to come away with victory in Game 5 Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

SERIES NOTES

Overall: 94-100
Home: 60-37 | Away: 34-63
Streak: Lost 1
Last Portland win: 1/3/2026

INJURY REPORT

• Damian Lillard (left Achilles tendon injury management) is out for Game Five in the best-of-seven series versus the Spurs.

• As for San Antonio, they have no injuries to report for Tuesday's game.

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game 1, April 19: Spurs 111, Trail Blazers 98
Game 2, April 21: Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103
Game 3, April 24, 7:30 p.m.: Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108
Game 4, April 26, 12:30 p.m.: Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 93
Game 5, April 28, 6:30 p.m.: Trail Blazers @ Spurs, ESPN
Game 6, April 30, TDB: Spurs @ Trail Blazers, TBD
Game 7, May 2, TBD: Trail Blazers @ Spurs, TBD

SERIES NOTES

HENDERSON LEADS BLAZERS TO GAME 2 WIN IN SAN ANTONIO
• Scoot Henderson posted a game-high 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting and 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range during Portland’s Game 2 win over San Antonio—becoming the youngest player in Trail Blazers history to record a playoff game of 30+ points:

JRUE WITH THE DIMES
• With his wealth of postseason experience, Jrue Holiday has done a terrific job getting the rest of his teammates open looks in this series. This is only the second time Holiday has dished out 20+ dimes through the first two games of a playoff series.

AVDIJA SHOWS OUT FOR PORTLAND DURING GAME 1
• Making his NBA Playoff career debut, Deni Avdija led the way for the Trail Blazers in Game 1 with a 30-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist performance.
• Avdija is just the second player in NBA history to record a stat line of 30+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists during a playoff debut—joining LeBron James (2006).
• Avdija is the only player in Trail Blazers franchise history to reach those numbers in any playoff game

WILLIAMS EXTENDS NBA RECORD .500 FG% STREAK
With a 5-for-7 shooting performance during Game 1 on Sunday, Robert Williams III posted his 27th straight playoff game of 50% or better shooting—the longest such playoff streak in NBA history:

• Williams also boasts the highest playoff career true shooting percentage among all active players (min. 200 FGA):

WEMBY PLAYOFF DEBUT
• In Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Playoff Debut on 4/19 vs. Portland, Wembanyama recorded 35 points (13-21 FGM, 5-6 3PM), 5 assists and 2 blocks.
• His 35 points passes Tim Duncan for most points in a Spurs Playoff debut
Wembanyama had 21 points in his first career Playoff half - the most by any NBA player in the first half of his postseason debut since tracking started in 1996-97.

PLAYOFF NOTES

• While it's been five years since the Portland Trail Blazers' most recent playoff appearance (2021), it's been a seven-year absence for the San Antonio Spurs (2019). But although the Blazers' total playoff seasons (38) nearly match San Antonio's (40), their historical resume doesn't compare to the five-time NBA champions.

• The Spurs have 222 postseason wins and 45 series wins all-time compared to 119 and 22, respectively, for the Trail Blazers. Since the 2001 postseason, the Spurs have won 32 playoff series, while the Trail Blazers have captured just four.

• A victory in Game 1 can certainly change the complexion of any playoff series, but the Trail Blazers often have had issues breaking on top. Portland is 21-37 record all-time in the first game of a playoff series.

• The Trail Blazers are seeking their first road win ever versus the Spurs in postseason play. Portland's 0-10 record represents the most losses without any wins when facing a playoff foe away from home. It's also one of the longest active road losing streaks in any postseason series, with the Trail Blazers involved in three of the top four.

• The 2026 Round 1 Playoff Series will mark the fifth postseason series between the Spurs and Trail Blazers. San Antonio has won three of the four playoff series between the two teams and holds a 14-6 postseason record against Portland.

• The Trail Blazers won the 1990 Western Conference Semifinals 4–3, marking their only playoff series win over San Antonio in the matchup history.

• The Spurs swept the 1999 Western Conference Finals 4–0 over Portland, holding the Trail Blazers under 90 points in all four games and limiting them to 84.3 points per game …The Spurs advanced through the 1999 Western Conference Finals over the Trail Blazers en route to the franchise’s first NBA championship. Spurs won the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals 4–1 over Portland, outscoring the Trail Blazers by an average of 13.4 points per game while shooting over 50% in multiple games.

SERIES RECAP

GAME 1
The seven-seed Portland Trail Blazers got their first playoff run since 2021 off to a rough start with a 111-98 loss to the two-seed San Antonio Spurs in front of a sellout crowd of 19,372 Sunday night at Frost Bank Center.

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal in 39 minutes. With the performance, Avdija joins LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to record at least 30 points, at least 10 rebounds and at least five assists in their playoff debut.

GAME 2
There's an old adage in the NBA is that it's not really a playoff series until the road team wins a game. In that case, we've got ourselves a series.

The Trail Blazers, as they had done repeatedly in the last month of the regular season, the play-in and now the playoffs, built a large lead, lost it, trailed by double digits in the fourth only to rally for the win, which this time was a 106-103 victory versus the Spurs in front of a sellout crowd of 19,338 Tuesday night in San Antonio.

GAME 3
Even with an engaged and enthusiastic crowd bringing their best for the first playoff game in Portland in five years, the Trail Blazers were ultimately unable to protect their home court as they fell 120-108 to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference two/seven matchup Friday night at Moda Center.

The Spurs now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

For a moment it looked as if the Trail Blazers might pull away from the Spurs, a team playing with Victor Wembanyama (concussion protocol), after going up 82-67 with a little over five minutes to play in the third quarter.

However, the Spurs, behind the play of guards Stephon Castle, a second-year player, and Dylan Harper, a rookie, close the quarter out on a 21-5 run to take an 88-87 lead into the fourth. Portland would briefly reclaim the lead early in the fourth, but the Spurs would take it right back and would never trail again.

GAME 4
If leading at the half mattered, the Portland Trail Blazers would be heading back to San Antonio with a lead in the two/seven Western Conference Playoff series versus the Spurs.

But the only thing that counts is which team is ahead when the final buzzer sounds, and that's why the Trail Blazers now have their backs squarely against the wall despite playing the last two games at home.

After leading by 17 at the intermission, the Trail Blazers were outscored 73-35 in the second half to come away with a 114-93 loss to the Spurs in Game 4 of their first round playoff series Sunday afternoon at Moda Center.

TRAIL BLAZERS NOTES

BLAZERS WIN PLAY-IN, MAKE FIRST PLAYOFFS SINCE 2021
• Portland secured the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed in the 2026 NBA Playoffs with a play-in win at Phoenix on Tuesday, 114-110.
• Deni Avdija led the way for Portland with a 41-point, 12-assist, seven-rebound performance—with his 41 points marking the third-most ever in an NBA Play-In Tournament game.

KEEP IT UP AVDIJA
• Deni Avdija scored at least 29 points in all three meetings with the Spurs during the regular season. His scoring average of 31.7 points versus the Spurs this season wasn't far behind the highest mark that any Trail Blazer has ever fashioned versus San Antonio in a single season (minimum 3 games), which belongs to Damian Lillard at 32.0 points in the 2022-23 season.

BLAZERS BOAST NBA’S THIRD BEST DEFENSE POST ALL-STAR
In 26 games after All-Star break, Portland’s 109.3 defensive rating was third best in the NBA during that span:

CAMARA SETS NBA RECORD FOR OFFENSIVE FOULS DRAWN
• Toumani Camara has drawn 106 offensive fouls this season most by any NBA player in a single season since the stat began to be tracked in 2005-06 (last 21 seasons). Camara led the league in offensive fouls drawn for the second-straight season, while Sidy Cissoko finished fifth.
• Camara also finished the regular season leading the league in total forced turnovers (offensive fouls drawn + steals) with 200.

CAMARA PLAYS AND STARTS ALL 82
• Toumani Camara was one of just four players in the NBA to start all 82 regular season games during the 2025-26 season.
• Camara became the first Trail Blazer to start all 82 regular season games since 2015-16 (Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee).

CAMARA COVERS RECORD-BREAKING GROUND ON DEFENSE
• Toumani Camara covered an NBA-leading 105.6 total miles on defense during the regular season—the most ever in the NBA’s tracking database (since 2013-14)

CLINGAN DOMINATING BOARDS, PROTECTING RIM
• Competing in his second NBA season, Donovan Clingan finished ranked third in the NBA in total rebounds per game.

• Clingan also led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (4.5), total offensive rebounds (347) and total rebounds (892), was second in second-chance points per game (4.4) and fifth in blocks per game (1.7)

CLINGAN SETS BLAZERS OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING RECORD
• Donovan Clingan claimed the Trail Blazers’ franchise record for offensive rebounds in a season on April 2 against New Orleans and finished the season with 347 total offensive boards:

AVDIJA ONE OF THREE IN NBA AMONG ELITE GROUP
• Deni Avdija was one of just three players in the NBA to finish the season averaging 24+ ppg, 6+ rpg and 6+ apg:

CAMARA SHOWS EXPANDED SHOOTING RANGE IN 2025-26
• Toumani Camara’s career-high 219 made 3-pointers in 2025-26 finished the season as the 14th highest total in the NBA and seventh most in a single season in Trail Blazers history.
• Camara had 62 games in 2025-26 with multiple made 3-pointers—tied for fifth most in the NBA.

WILLIAMS PROVIDES IMPACTFUL RESERVE MINUTES
Among players who played at least 1000 minutes during the regular season, Robert Williams III finished top five in the NBA in blocks per 36 minutes, rebounds per 36 minutes and field goal percentage (min. 250 FGA):

THYBULLE RECORDS STEALS AT A HIGH RATE OFF THE BENCH
• Despite having played only 30 games this season, Matisse Thybulle has continued to have an impact on the defensive end this season—recording steals at a high rate in a smaller sample size. Thybulle recorded at least one steal in 26 of 30 games he played during the regular season and had 11 games of 3+ steals.

BLAZERS EARN AND CAPITALIZE ON SECOND CHANCES
• Portland finished the season ranked first on second chance points per game at 18.4 and second in offensive rebounds per game at 14.1.

AVDIJA ACTIVE FOR PORTLAND IN CLUTCH TIME
• Having competed in clutch time in 36 games during the 2025-26 season, Deni Avdija ranked among the best in the NBA in several clutch statistics. “Clutch time” is defined as when the score of the game is within five points with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter:

YOU KNOW IT'S JRUE
• Jrue Holiday scored 30 points in last week's win versus the Clippers, helping Portland move to 5-1 this season when he scores at least 25. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, his teams have won three out of every four games when he hits that mark.

CAMARA SHOWING EXPANDED RANGE
• With a career-high 219 made threes this season, Camara is one of just four players in Trail Blazers history to make 200+ 3-pointers in a season, joining Damian Lillard (8x), Anfernee Simons (2x) and Wesley Matthews

BLAZERS ADD SHARP SHOOTING KREJCI TO LINEUP
• On Feb. 1, Portland acquired forward Vit Krejci from Atlanta via trade. Including this season, Krejci has shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range in each of the last three seasons and currently ranks among the league’s best 3-point shooters for the 2025-26 season.

AVDIJA NAMED ALL-STAR; CLINGAN, YANG NAMED RISING STARS
• Three Trail Blazers— Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen —participated at the 2026 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
• Avdija earned his first NBA All-Star selection, being named a Western Conference reserve, while Clingan and Yang will compete in the Rising Stars Challenge.
• Yang was one of seven players selected through playing in G League games this season. In eight total games with the G League Rip City Remix this season, Yang has averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game.

DAME TIME AGAIN
• Despite sitting out this season while rehabbing a torn Achilles, Damian Lillard will also took part in All-Star Weekend— competing in and winnning the 3-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday night having previously competed in 2014, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 and winning the event in both 2023 (Salt Lake City) and 2024 (Indianapolis). Lillard joins Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players to with the event three times.

SHARPE BECOMES YOUNGEST BLAZER TO REACH 1,000 FGM
• Aged 22 years, 150 days old, Shaedon Sharpe connected on his 1,000th career made field goal on Monday in Los Angeles—making him the youngest player in Trail Blazers history to reach that mark.

LILLARD RETURNS TO RIP CITY
• Nine-time NBA All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection Damian Lillard announced his return to the Trail Blazers in July.
• Originally selected No. 6 overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA Draft, Lillard spent the first 11 seasons of his storied NBA career in Portland.
• Across 769 regular season games, Lillard posted averages of 25.2 points (43.9% FG, 37.2% 3-PT, 89.5% FT), 6.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 36.3 minutes per game.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS NOTES

• Veteran guard De'Aaron Fox has taken it upon himself to improve his play with Wemby out this year, boosting his scoring average by more than 8.0 points with the big man sidelined.

• In addition to averaging 16.7 points per game in 2025-26, Stephon Castle was one of only five players who combined at 500 assists and 350 rebounds. Castle (16.8 PPG / 8.1 APG) also joined Nikola Jokić, Jalen Brunson and Cade Cunningham as the only four players who averaged at least 16.0 points per game and 8.0 assists per game after the All-Star break (minimum 15 games).

• The Spurs currently own the third-best overall winning percentage in the playoffs. Despite a six-year playoff absence, the Spurs have won the most postseason games since entering the new Millennium and have the second-most NBA Championships during that time frame (5).

• With their 40th playoff berth in their 50-year NBA history since joining the league in 1976, the Spurs own the second-most postseason appearances since they entered the NBA.

• Since moving to the Frost Bank Center in 2002, the San Antonio Spurs are 83-31 (.728) in home playoff games, giving them the third-most such wins by any team in the league since that year.

BROADCAST NOTES

Tuesday's game can be seen nationally on ESPN. Travis Demers will have the play-by-play on Rip City Radio 620 AM.