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Jrue Holiday summed up the turning point after the Portland Trail Blazers’ 120-108 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, pointing directly to execution, rebounding, and momentum swings in a game that slipped away in the second half.
“It’s a lot of fight, scrappiness, and I think they just came up with more plays,” Holiday said. “Bigger shots, got the 50/50 balls more than we did.”
Portland led by 15 points in the third quarter but was outscored 53-26 the rest of the way, as San Antonio grabbed control of the series behind Stephon Castle’s 33 points and Dylan Harper’s 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Holiday identified rebounding as the core issue behind the shift. “I think they rebounded better in the second half where we hang our hats on offensive rebounding and kick out threes,” he said.
The Blazers shot 12-for-26 from three in the first half but cooled to 2-for-12 after the break, and Holiday said the looks were still there. “I think we got good looking shots,” he said. “We didn’t knock those in.”
San Antonio’s ability to close possessions limited Portland’s second-chance offense, a key part of its system. “They did a good job of boxing us out to not get those offensive rebounds,” Holiday said.
The Spurs also punished Portland in transition after defensive stops, a recurring issue that swung momentum late in the third quarter. “In transition they’re always pretty good,” Holiday added.
The final 4:30 of the third quarter proved decisive, with the Blazers turning a 14-point lead into a one-point deficit entering the fourth. Holiday pointed to both shot selection and defensive breakdowns during that stretch.
“I had some crucial mistakes leaving Vassell open in the corner, and then right after I had a turnover to Toumani,” he said. “So that’s just momentum for them.”
San Antonio capitalized on every mistake, and Holiday acknowledged the importance of precision in playoff basketball. “It always sucks when you feel like you had the game in your control,” he said. “We’re going to have to play a really clean, almost perfect game.”
Dylan Harper’s late third-quarter surge also shifted the tone of the game, with Portland struggling to contain San Antonio’s guard rotation in small-lineup minutes. Holiday credited the rookie’s impact. “He came in, gave them energy,” he said.
The Blazers also struggled to slow the Spurs’ spread attack. “They have really good guard play and we got to do better protecting the paint,” Holiday said.
With Portland now trailing 2-1 in the series, Holiday emphasized urgency without panic. “This loss hurts, but we’ve got another one Sunday, so you can’t really hang your hat on it too low,” he said.
He added a simple message about response time in a short playoff window. “Take it on the chin tonight and then tomorrow we got to get back to work.”
