National Basketball Association
Preview
Portland at San Antonio
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 21, 2024
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas

The improving San Antonio Spurs have all their key players back in the fold and will attempt to build on one of their best stretches of the season when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday in a Western Conference clash.

The Spurs, who have coped with injuries to several key players and the absence of coach Gregg Popovich (stroke) for the past month and a half, have to be considered one of the NBA's surprising teams.

San Antonio's roster is a mix of young stars like Victor Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan and rookie Stephon Castle and salty veterans Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, with the latter duo preaching a "win-now" attitude rather than a rebuilding one.

A great example of the Spurs' gritty play was in their 133-126 OT win at home over Atlanta on Thursday. Wembanyama racked up 42 points and Paul had a key four-point play late in regulation and a decisive 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in overtime to produce the victory, San Antonio's third in its past four games.

"We have a really good team, and I just hope we understand that we can be really good," Paul said afterward. "We don't have to wait until next year or the year after. We need to be trying to win right now."

Thursday's win also featured 23 points from guard Devin Vassell, who was in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Vassell missed the initial nine games of the season while working his way back from offseason foot surgery. His start marked the first time this season that San Antonio's projected starting five -- Wembanyama, Paul, Barnes, Sochan and Vassell -- opened the game on the court.

The Trail Blazers roll into the Alamo City on a high after a 126-124 win at home over Denver on Thursday. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for Portland but was only its second win in its past 10 contests.

Anfernee Simons drove the lane for the deciding layup at the buzzer to garner the win for the Trail Blazers. Simons led Portland with 28 points and 10 assists while Shaedon Sharpe had 27 points and Deni Avdija produced 19 in 21 minutes off the bench to help the Trail Blazers survive blowing a 17-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Portland, like the Spurs, is considered to be a team that's rebuilding and taking its lumps while learning from its losses. So winning, especially against Denver -- a recent NBA champion -- had to feel great for a team whose mantra has been to stay the course and get better with each game.

"I can't tell the future, but I like the things that we do each and every day to get better," Simons said. "We got to just keep plugging away at the things we can get better at and shore those things up."

The Spurs have captured the first two games of the season series with Portland, winning in San Antonio by 13 points on Nov. 7 and on the road by two last week. After Saturday's game, the teams will conclude their series on April 6 in Portland.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Portland 9-18 W1 6-7 3-11 2-0 7-18 3-4 8-17
San Antonio 14-13 W1 10-7 4-6 0-1 14-12 2-4 12-12
Last Meeting
Portland San Antonio
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
12/13/24 SA 118 POR 116 116 36 51.2 118 41 51.8
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Portland J. Grant 32 63.2 0
San Antonio V. Wembanyama 28 42.1 10
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Portland D. Clingan 7 2 5
San Antonio V. Wembanyama 7 1 6
Assists Player  
Portland A. Simons 7
San Antonio B. Wesley 8
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Portland J. Grant 441 40.2 81
San Antonio V. Wembanyama 557 47.0 85
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Portland D. Ayton 198 59 139
San Antonio V. Wembanyama 238 44 194
Assists Player  
Portland A. Simons 117
San Antonio C. Paul 242
Quickchart Matchup
Portland Portland Off vs  San Antonio San Antonio Defense
Portland Off vs San Antonio - Points For 107.6 Points For
Portland Off vs San Antonio - Points Against 113.4 Points Against
Portland - FG% 43.9 FG%
San Antonio - FG% 46.6 FG%
Portland - Reb 43.0 Reb
San Antonio - Reb 44.5 Reb
San Antonio San Antonio Off vs  Portland Portland Defense
San Antonio Off vs Portland - Points For 111.7 Points For
San Antonio Off vs Portland - Points Against 116.4 Points Against
San Antonio - FG% 45.6 FG%
Portland - FG% 47.8 FG%
San Antonio - Reb 44.7 Reb
Portland - Reb 45.2 Reb