The Portland Trail Blazers opened the Donovan Clingan era with a manic, late-game comeback that fell just short against the San Antonio Spurs at Las Vegas Summer League.
The Blazers went down 77-83 to a Spurs squad, featuring Clingan’s UConn teammate Stephon Castle, which already had two Summer League games under their belt.
The Jonah Herscu-led Blazers fought back from an 18-point three-quarter-time deficit to give the Spurs some headaches in the final three minutes.
Clingan’s own performance was fascinating to watch. Despite struggling on offense, registering four points on 1 of 8 from the field, he was a force on the defensive end, standing like the Rock of Gibraltar under the basket.