Deux de faits
The Guillotine - It’s an embarrassment of riches but one that I’m not the least bit embarrassed about. Was lottery luck an ingredient in our elite roster construction? Sure; but so was hitting on selecting quality players later in the draft, fleecing mismanaged franchises in one-sided trades, and making savvy free agent signings. Not to mention we’ve had all of these other ingredients other than luck in the pot before even factoring in that we’ve cooked and seasoned the stew with our second-to-none player development program. So, no; I’m not the least bit embarrassed that, even though we had the nearly unprecedented good fortune to have selected two, four, and one in the last three NBA drafts respectively, our squad is so deep and talented that we have the riches to witnesses two of our youngest players, a 20-year-old rookie and a 21 year-old sophomore, impose their will on a playoff game at a first team all-NBA level on a night where our actual first team all-NBA 22-year-old superstar watches the game from the bench in vibrant street clothes while still in the protocol for returning to action from a concussion. We’ve earned the right to not be embarrassed. You make your own luck. To quote a former (and probably future) pharmaceutical sales representative, “Fortune favors the bold.”
On Friday night in Rose City, the San Antonio Spurs (sans our franchise player) competed in the most hostile environment that most of our young core has ever experienced and past the test with flying colors boldly defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 to take a 2-1 lead in our Western Conference first round series and immediately snatch back the home court advantage that we’ve spent the past seven months earning. After learning less than 90 minutes prior to tip that Victor Wembanyama had been ruled out of Game 3, we knew we were going to need to buckle in for 48 minutes of grinding against a no-longer-overmatched gritty opponent. Tell the UFO hunters to stand down. There will be no sightings of an extraterrestrial doing otherworldly things against inferior earthlings in the PNW on this particular 60 degree pleasant Spring evening. But for any blood sport enthusiasts, you can tell them there will certainly be a dog fight.
The Blazers set the tone early in the first quarter but luckily, as his teammates struggled to get acclimated to the hostile road environment, Stephon Castle was more than willing to match Portland’s physicality and intensity. Steph bulldozed and bullied his way into the paint over and over again throughout the first half getting buckets or getting free throws or getting his teammates open looks, neutralizing the rowdy Portlandian hipster weirdos in the sellout crowd, and keeping the visitors in striking distance to the tune of 19 first half points and a tremendous amount of poise for a 21-year-old second-year player. (I tease our friends in Portland out of love. Portland is one of my favorite cities in the United States. I spend a lot of time there and know many amazing people who live there. I’m really happy they also have a competitive basketball team that is in the playoffs for the first time in a long time but since they ended up being our first round match up, a little lighthearted razzing over the next couple of weeks is fair game.)
While the 2024 NCAA Champion was the primary reason the Blazers (along with their raucous Moda Center crowd) were unable to create much double-digit separation in the first half, he had a running mate. (A running mate who he coincidentally just so happens to co-own a fast food chain with.) White Castle was in the building last night serving deliciously fresh responses to every Portland first half run (withstanding the expected desperation of an opponent who understands they need to seize this opportunity to grab another game with Wemby out) and getting us to the halftime locker room only down six, 65-59. Luke Kornet (as he has been so far this entire series) was as poised and effective on Friday night as you would expect someone who was a rotation player on a championship team two years ago to be during the April portion of the postseason. 20-5 as a starter this season heading into the game, Luke’s activity on both sides of the floor complimented Steph’s bully ball in keeping us close enough to prevent the first half Blazers avalanche that felt on a knife’s edge of beginning the entire first 24 minutes. Kornet even drained his first three pointer of the entire season with 10.2 seconds left in the first quarter. Clutch shot in a critical situation.
Coming out of the locker room to begin the second half, Portland continued to execute at a high level and their intensity did not relent. It was clear they understood their path to the second round went from “you might need to squint to see it” to relatively open the instant Victor’s face hit the hardwood on Tuesday evening but losing a non-Wemby home game could almost certainly not be a pit stop if they wanted to keep the path open. They played ferociously after the break building their six point lead to 15 when they led 82-67 with 5:09 left in the third. At this point in the game, I must admit, I was begrudgingly beginning to try to start to process the possibility that this may just not be our night and our group may not be capable of restoring order to this series until Wemby is able to rejoin it. But even though these thoughts were admittedly in my head, I still believed we had more than enough time to walk this game down. My faith may have wavered but it didn’t abdicate. I knew we just needed one player to inject some nuclear fusion into our offense and ignite the type of brilliant, electric explosion that could flip the game. And to my absolute unadulterated pleasure, on the very next possession… a star is born.
With 4:48 remaining in the third period of his third-career playoff game, Dylan Harper drained a corner three point dagger that detonated a fulmination so magnificent, those of us who witnessed it will never be able to fully remove the imprint of it from our retinas. Blazers lead 82-70. On the next Spurs possession, Harper pump faked and then drove right past Donovan Clingan and beat Deni Avdjia to the rim with force laying the ball up with his left hand on the right side of the bucket. Blazers 84-70. Later in the period he boarded a Drew Holiday missed corner three and went coast to coast to draw a foul on Jerami Grant. Although he split the free throws and missed a runner in the paint on the very next possession, It was clear his confidence was through the roof and he had the mindset required for one individual player to take over a playoff game. Blazers 84-78. With a minute and a half left in the frame, he cleverly swooped in to secure a lose ball that Scoot Henderson was in better position to grab (after Carter Bryant fumbled away his own offensive rebound) and fired it out to a wide open Keldon Johnson at the three point line. Bottoms. Blazers 85-81. (More on Keldon later.)
On the next possession, he was in position to grab the offensive rebound and go up strong off the glass for the put back when De’Aaron Fox smoked a layup off a baseline drive. Grown man bucket in the paint for the still-too-young-to-legally-be-served-alcohol-could-be-college-sophomore. Blazers 85-83. After Jerami Grant missed an elbow three on Portland’s next trip up the court, Dylan once again swooped in for a rebound that this time, Robert Williams was in a better position to grab and while attempting to ignite the break, drew a foul on Toumani Camara. And this time at the charity stripe, he drilled both free throws while also jawing with Camara throughout the sequence (presumably over the last foul call). Man, oh man, this is exhilarating. The number two overall pick in the NBA draft has the swagger to stand up to one of the toughest defenders in the entire league because, at the end of the day, in Dylan’s mind, “I already know you can’t guard me.” Tie ball game.
Now in the final minute of the frame, Scoot Henderson made a strong move on Harper for a layup (seemingly wanting to intentionally upstage the hottest player on the court) but, unable to resist involving himself in the extracurriculars started by Camara, immediately drew a technical for barking obnoxiously in Dylan’s face. After Julian Champagnie made the T and Fox nailed a cold-blooded jumper from the midrange, the Blazers had the last possession of the third. As the final seconds ticked down, an over-exuberant Henderson attempted to isolate Harper at the top of the key and drive him right. Off-balance, he could only muster a rushed floater which Dylan blocked into the front row with unapologetic utter disgusting disdain. 18-3 San Antonio run to end the third quarter fueled by a second-generation basketball prodigy. Spurs 88-87.
Portland in possession to begin the fourth quarter, Harper disrupted the first attempt, a Scoot(er McGavin) driving floater that missed so badly, Time Lord was gifted the rebound (a recurring theme in this series so far) that he fired right back to Henderson for an easy uncontested lay up. Not to be outdone in the budding duel, with Scoot guarding him, Harper lost contact with him floating to the corner as Fox was probing and drained another cold-blooded corner three in the eye of a rotating Holiday right in front of the Blazers bench before turning to remind them who was in control of this game. This kid’s dripping with moxie. Spurs 91-89. Gliding up the court in transition two possessions later, Dylan crossed over a six-time All-Defensive team honoree like he was hanging in Rio de Janeiro on holiday and then immediately spun back the other direction with the grace of a figure skater into a straight line drive for another crafty left-handed finish at the cup. We want to thank you for flying with us. Spurs 93-91.
After a mini-cold stretch during which the Blazers scored four straight to regain a two point lead on buckets by Shaedon Sharpe and Holiday, the February Kia Western Conference Conference Rookie of the Month was once again the fastest to a loose ball, tipping a shot that Julian had heaved from nearly half court in desperation with the shot clock running down over to Carter who hot potatoed it to Keldon who swung it right back to Dylan to raise up and drain yet another soul-snatching three over Holiday. We know you coulda stayed home, just cried and cussed. Spurs 96-95. Back down at the other end of the court, a quickly losing steam and clearly overmatched Scoot Henderson forced another erratic fadeaway in the paint (and realized in mid air he brought a water gun to a duel). Bryant easily blocked the shot without even leaving his feet. In true Jordanesque fashion, New Jersey’s finest was not done proving his point. With Henderson checking him in the right corner and the shot clock running down on our ensuing possession, Dylan Freaking Harper blew past “Scoot” driving baseline then rose like a phoenix on the right side of the rim sailing past Time Lord like he was frozen in place only to rock the cradle now on the left side of the rim and yam with the fury of a thousand suns and the contempt of man you should now and forever know you should never scorn right on William’s grille. Ladies and gentleman, your player of the game. We got the guillotine, you better run. Spurs 98-95.
Dylan Harper’s brilliant, electric explosion as a star had not just walked the game down, it chased the game down like a mall security guard with too big an ego over too pathetically small of an amount of power pursuing a teenage shoplifter like they had just committed felony aggravated robbery and officially flipped the game for good by the 8:13 mark of the fourth quarter, turning a 15 point deficit into a three point advantage. All told for Game 3, Harper had 27 points (9-12 from the field, 4-5 from three, and 5-6 from the line), 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block with only one turnover and an eye popping team-high +25 in 30 minutes. With this performance Friday night, he became the second youngest player to score 20+ points off of the bench in an NBA playoff game (bested only by the late Kobe Bryant in 1997 at age 18) forever cementing his career-high scoring evening in basketball lore as “The Dylan Harper Game.”
Other players joined the 2025 second overall pick’s coming out party down the stretch to help seal the seemingly improbable #BlackAndSilver comeback victory. Stephon Castle, the leader in the clubhouse for player of the game at halftime, book-ended Dylan’s detonation by going on a personal 7-0 run immediately following Harper’s dunk over Time Lord to increase the Spurs advantage to double figures, 105-95, with six minutes left to play. Castle finished his stellar evening with 33 points (10-18 from the field, 3-4 from deep, and a critical 10-11 from the line), five assets, two rebounds, and a steal in 34 minutes. Combined, The Slash Brothers racked up a staggering 60 points (63% from the field, 78% from deep, 88% from the stripe), 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block becoming the first duo 21 or younger to both score 25+ in an NBA playoff game since Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook in 2010. Throw in the 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds De’Aaron Fox gave us in an uneven performance and you’re talking about 78 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists of production by San Antonio’s three-headed monster guard rotation. While our all-star guard didn’t deliver the '“carry the team on his back” performance I had called out in Un de moines we were going to need from him, he did hit some key “closer” buckets down the stretch to help seal the game and, to his credit, the threat he poses as a first option offensive weapon forced the Blazers to park Camara (their best defender) on him for almost the entire game which opened up the opportunities for Castle and Harper to cook lesser defenders all night.
Speaking of Stephon, White Castle combined for one more sick lob dunk down the stretch when Luke hammered down a Steph pass over the top of none other than “lord, did he have a hard time” Robert Williams to increase the Spurs lead to 13 with 4:43 left to play. Kornet finished his night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of action helping increase his record to 21-5 as a starter on the season. Carter Bryant, trusted by Coach Mitch Johnson to play key minutes down the stretch, came up with some big defensive plays in crunch time but had his highlight of the night earlier with a ridiculous step back three right smack dab in the middle of the Dylan Harper third quarter explosion. While our other 20-year-old rookie’s stat line of three points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks looks somewhat pedestrian in the box score, Bryant’s impact went well beyond what was quantifiable playing harassing, disruptive defense every second of every minute he was on the floor and serving as a small ball offensive hub at times en route to a second-only-to-fellow-rookie-Harper +17 during his highly impactful 23 minutes. Speaking of impactful contributions that didn’t necessarily pop out in the box score, I want to also give some shine to the heart and soul of the Spurs, Keldon Johnson. KJ only had five points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in Game 3 but his relentless intensity and infectious energy were crucial to the comeback and indicative of why he deserved the magical moment he experienced just 48 hours earlier back in San Antonio.
On Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, Keldon Johnson was named the 2025-26 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. (With the dark cloud of uncertainty surrounding Wemby’s injury, I didn’t want this incredible news to get overshadowed so even though I hadn’t yet finished the last Black & Silver post when I first heard about KJ’s career-redefining achievement, I decided to punt on highlighting it then so it could really be spotlighted under better circumstance i.e. hopefully following a Game 3 win. Glad that gamble worked out.) The longest-tenured Spur received the news watching the broadcast of the announcement at home surrounded by family and friends. He was summoned to The Rock at La Cantera later that afternoon to hold court with the media but upon arrival, he was surprisingly greeted by his teammates and coaches in the most heartwarmingly festive way imaginable. Yee haw! One of my favorite Spurs players since the minute he arrived in San Antonio as a 19-year-old late first round draft pick in 2019, I could not be more thrilled for the eclectic mixtape curating, boombox blasting ball of energy extroverted cowboy from South Hill, VA.
The fact that a former team leader in scoring for an entire season (2022-23) was willing to sacrifice for the good of the team by accepting a bench roll (as more and more bluechip talent was trickling into the roster) and now that sacrifice has been immortalized in the annals of NBA history is so freaking cool. Johnson joins hall-of-famer Manu Ginobili (2007-08) as the only San Antonio Spurs players to win the award. One of my favorite moments in Keldon’s career (to date) was when he scrapped and clawed his way onto the 2021 United States Olympic team roster at the last minute after some higher profile stars withdrew due to injury. Having been brought to Las Vegas during Team USA’s training camp to scrimmage against the Tokyo-bound squad as part of the USA Select team, Johnson all of a sudden got the unexpected call from USA + San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich to get his ass on the plane with them at the very last possible minute. While only playing sparingly, KJ did have a role in winning Team USA’s fourth consecutive Olympic Gold and he got to do it right alongside the coach that was so instrumental to his development. Watching the two of them celebrate that accomplishment together was quite special. Seeing the love Johnson received from his teammates on Wednesday in honor of his highest individual career achievement was equally special. Now, Keldon can place his newly-earned John Havlicek Trophy on a mantle right next to his 2021 Olympic Gold Medal. (He might very well still add another prize to that mantle this summer.) Well done, KJ. I can’t imagine a player more deserving of this type of honor than you.
This afternoon, we’re back at it less than 40 hours after the conclusion of the Spurs’ biggest come-from-behind playoff victory since Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals. Victor Wembanyama’s status for Game 4 is still unknown as I’m completing this post (just as it was on Friday) but the difference now is, rather than finding ourselves in the urgent position of needing to wrestle back control of the home court advantage for the series, we have the opportunity (with or without Victor) to march right back into the Moda Center and all but extinguish any hope of a Blazers series upset by stopping down all of the remaining light that this fun, scrappy, resurgent Portland season has provided to the Pacific Northwest through the aperture that is our state-of-the-art, magnificent, overwhelming, embarrassment of riches, jaw-dropping talent. If we play Game 4 this afternoon in an even more hostile environment but with same intensity, focus, and swagger that we played with on Friday night, our talent should ultimately overpower the opposition and win the day like it already has on 64 other prior occasions this campaign. Based on our winning percentage this season, there is a three out of four chance that my head will hit the pillow happy tonight. There’s been a great many similar nights these past seven months where I’ve drifted to sleep fully content while triumphant Wembanyama or Castle or Harper highlights are replaying in my mind showcasing the breath of our young core’s talent. It’s about the most effective sleeping medication a chronic insomniac could ask to be prescribed and one that I’ve been given a glutinous supply of this year. In case you’re wondering, I’m not the least bit embarrassed about it.
Video Source: ESPN Australia on YouTube
Featured Image Source: Mubi
Headline Image Source: NBASpurs on Reddit
