The Portland Trail Blazers were locked in a tight contest with the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night on the road — until a bleh third quarter spelled Portland’s doom once again. The Spurs outscored the Blazers 35-24 in that third period, and it propelled them to a 118-105 win.
In the postgame press conference, Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups talked about how Portland “could never really get a rhythm” versus San Antonio. While the Spurs’ hot 3-point shooting was a big problem, Billups said the Blazers also gave up too many layups. In the category of positives, Billups discussed a solid season debut for Shaedon Sharpe and Portland’s defense on Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who scored 12 points on 4-13 shooting.