Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The San Antonio Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox leading the way, erased a 19-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-93 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in their NBA playoff series on Sunday. Wembanyama, back after missing game three because of a concussion he sustained in game two, scored 27 points with 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals and seven blocked shots.
“I had lots of emotions in me before the game, obviously,” said the 22-year-old French superstar, already named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and in the running for Most Valuable Player. “Excitement, frustration, so I let it all out tonight,” said Wembanyama, who said the Spurs were “amazing” after his injury. But he was “unhappy” with how the protocol — which requires a gradual return to basketball activity monitored by medical staff — was handled by other parties involved. “I’ve been really healthy, starting on day one after the injury,” he said.
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Fox led all scorers with 28 points, and the Spurs out-scored the Trail Blazers 73-35 in the second half to move within one win of advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals. The Spurs, seeded second in the West, can clinch the best-of-seven series when they host game five on Tuesday. “When we got in that hole, we just had to figure out a way to play the right way,” Fox said. “Not necessarily play better. If you don’t make shots, it is what it is … but the way that we got down was, we felt like, all our fault. Third quarter we played the right way. We kept them out of the paint and that’s why we were able to get back in this game.”
Deni Avdija scored 26 points and Jrue Holiday added 20 for the Trail Blazers, but they were the only Portland starters who scored in the second half.
In Toronto, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 points apiece as the Raptors held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to knot their Eastern Conference series at 2-2. The Raptors trailed by five with 2:10 left to play but powered to the lead with a 9-0 scoring burst and held on for the win. “We want it so bad,” Barnes, who added nine rebounds and six assists, told broadcaster ESPN. “We’re hungry. We’re fighting.”
Both teams struggled offensively, the Raptors enduring a particularly dismal day from three-point range, making just four of 30 attempts from beyond the arc. Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points to lead the Cavaliers and James Harden added 19, but Mitchell missed two attempts in the final 30 seconds as Barnes made six free throws down the stretch. The series now shifts to Cleveland for game five on Wednesday. The home team has won every game so far.
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