Spurs Beat Trail Blazers

The Spurs used a big third quarter to beat the Trail Blazers in a Western Conference matchup. San Antonio defeated Portland 118-105 at the Frost Bank Center. The Spurs had a one-point lead at halftime before outscoring Portland 35-24 in the third. Keldon Johnson came off the bench to lead the way with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Malaki Branham tied Johnson with a team-high 17 points as the Spurs improved to 4-and-5. Portland's Deandre Ayton had a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards in the losing effort. The Blazers have lost three of their last four to slip to 3-and-6.

SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES

Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson

(On tonight’s effort…)

“Second night of it back-to-back, like you said. And got punched in the mouth last night, so the reaction and response were awesome. I'm proud of those guys. [We] got a couple of guys out, as we've discussed before, and it was a complete effort. The bench was huge tonight. Guys stepped up and did a lot of different things. The assists was one of them, the rebounds – we knew Portland was huge. They do a good job on the glass. So, it was a very nice response after last night.”

(On Blake Wesley…)

“Blake has had a really good camp. He probably didn't play as well as he wanted to the first couple of games, but been pretty proud of his approach and kind of staying with it and trusting in the work that he's done in the offseason and in camp. [It’s] fun to see a young guy get rewarded for that.”

(On Stephon Castle…)

“I love how serious he is. I’ve said that a couple of times in a complimentary way. Very even keeled, poised, composure, whatever that tag is, but it seems like he has it. And he hasn't played great, and he's played great, so he's had that the whole time. That's a good trait to have in this league.”

Spurs Guard Stephon Castle

(On finishing strong after a slow start…)

“Sticking with our schemes. I believe in it. Being aggressive throughout and being able to play with space and pick on mismatches. It can be anybody’s night at any point of the game. I feel like early in the game, Blake [Wesley] had it going and late in the game, [Chris Paul] and myself had it going. It could really be anybody at any point of the game. so just sticking with the script.”

(On the ball movement reflecting the team concepts…)

“We really don’t care who scores the ball, at the end of the day. It’s not one individual versus another team. Just trying to find the best shot in every possession. We have a lot of great guys that shoot the ball with confidence and are going to continue to do it. Just trying to get the ball to where it needs to be.”

(On playing against former UCONN teammate Donavan Clingan…)

“It was crazy. It was something that we talked about even before we teamed up at UCONN. For it to happen for the first time – and it’ll happen again and many other times, but for the first time it was really cool.”

 Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama

(On the win being an all-around team effort…)

“I didn’t know that eight guys [scored in double-figures]. It just shows we tried to involve everybody, and guys are here and ready to answer that.”

(On if his favorite type of win is one where a lot of players are involved…)

“My favorite type of win, if I have to describe it, is when we can really answer to the tactics of the opponent while involving everybody. It is my favorite kind of win, yeah”