De’Aaron Fox poured in 25 points and San Antonio’s reserves contributed 48 points as the host Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 112-101 on Wednesday.
San Antonio played without Victor Wembanyama (left rib contusion) and Stephon Castle (right knee soreness) but still had enough to outlast the determined and hungry Trail Blazers.
The win was the Spurs’ 13th in their past 14 games. San Antonio (61-19) is guaranteed the No. 2 spot in the West and will open its first trip to the playoffs since the 2018-19 season at home next week.
The Trail Blazers (40-40) remain ninth in the West, a game back of the Clippers with two contests remaining. Portland can finish no higher than eighth in the conference standings.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs’ reserves with 20 points while Carter Bryant hit for a career-high 17. Devin Vassell had 14, Dylan Harper scored 13 and Luke Kornet hit for 10.
Deni Avdija paced Portland with 29 points, with Scott Henderson scoring 20, Toumani Camara contributing 18, Jrue Holiday tallying 13 and Donovan Clingan racking up 11 points and 11 rebounds.
San Antonio led by 15 in the second quarter and by 10 at halftime before the Trail Blazers clawed back to within 73-68 midway through the third quarter. The Spurs responded by scoring 13 of the period’s final 15 points to carry an 88-73 edge into the final quarter..
Portland closed to within 103-97 on a 3-pointer by Holiday with 3:34 remaining. The Spurs swung back with a jumper from beyond the arc by Fox and a dunk by Kornet and were never again seriously threatened.
The Spurs owned a 32-23 advantage after 12 minutes of play. San Antonio stoked its advantage to 15 when Johnson punctuated a 9-0 run with a pair of free throws at the 4:34 mark of the second quarter. Portland culled its deficit to eight on Avdija’s layup with 1:55 left before San Antonio settled for a 61-51 advantage at the break.
Fox led all players with 16 points before halftime while Avdija paced the Trail Blazers with 15 and Camara added 12 in the first half.
