Stephon Castle, Wemby-less Spurs snag series edge against Blazers

Stephon Castle hit for 33 points and rookie reserve Dylan Harper added career bests of 27 points and 10 boards as the visiting San Antonio Spurs roared back to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 on Friday in Game 3 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.

San Antonio erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit and took a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is set for Portland on Sunday.

The Spurs won with Victor Wembanyama on the bench after their star player was ruled out prior to the game because of concussion protocol. He sustained a head injury in the second quarter of Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Spurs trailed by six points at halftime and were down 82-67 past the midpoint of the third quarter before roaring back to take an 88-87 lead into the fourth. Harper scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds in the third to lead the comeback.

Harper then posted San Antonio's first 10 points of the fourth quarter to help the visitors forge a 15-1 run that built a 108-96 lead with 5:48 to play. The Trail Blazers closed to within nine points on Jrue Holiday's layup with 2:47 left but would never seriously challenge again.

De'Aaron Fox added 18 points for the Spurs, with Luke Kornet racking up 14 points and 10 rebounds while Devin Vassell contributed 11 points.

Holiday finished with 29 points to lead Portland. Scoot Henderson added 21, Deni Avdija scored 19, Jerami Grant tallied 13 and Robert Williams put up 11 for the Trail Blazers. Donovan Clingan grabbed 11 rebounds, and Avdija handed out nine assists.

Portland led 29-27 after the first quarter. San Antonio was up 41-35 before the Trail Blazers rode Holiday's eight straight points as part of an 18-4 run that produced a 53-45 lead.

Grant's 3-pointer with nine seconds left allowed Portland to carry a 65-59 lead to the break.

Castle racked up 19 points to lead all scorers in the first half. Holiday's 17 points paced the Trail Blazers before halftime.

Portland expanded its lead to 15 points after a pair of free throws by Grant with 5:09 to play in the third, but the rest of the quarter belonged to the Spurs.