Wembanyama’s ‘extremely difficult’ defense helps Spurs to first playoff series win since 2017

Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks as the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers and won a playoff series for the first time since 2017.

De’Aaron Fox had 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 and Dylan Harper scored 17 for the Spurs, who led by as many as 28 in their 114-95 victory, which secured a 4-1 series win.

“We didn’t want to go back to Portland,” Champagnie said. “That was kind of the emphasis for the guys on the team. We just didn’t want to fly back to Portland. It’s a four-hour flight. So being up 3-1 and playing at home, it’s a good chance to close it out and not go back. So, that was all of the motivation we needed tonight.”

Wembanyama, the newly crowned NBA defensive player of the year, was stellar as the Spurs closed out the Blazers on Tuesday night.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Portland coach Tiago Splitter said of Wembanyama’s defense. “You’ve got to do a lot of tricks and try to set backscreens and seals and spin actions. It’s not easy, because he can contest the three and the rim at the same time, basically. He’s going to create a lot of problems for a lot of teams for a long time.”

The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.

Philadelphia 76ers 113-97 Boston Celtics

Joel Embiid scored 33 points and added eight assists as Philadelphia avoided elimination by beating Boston in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Tyrese Maxey added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, who trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Philadelphia entered the fourth quarter down by one but outscored the Celtics 28-11 over the final 12 minutes. Boston got 24 points and 16 rebounds from Jayson Tatum, and 22 points from Jaylen Brown. The Celtics shot 3-for-22 from the floor in the final period.

Atlanta Hawks 97-126 New York Knicks

Jalen Brunson scored 39 points to lift New York to victory over Atlanta in Game 5 of their series. The Knicks, who hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, got 17 points and 10 rebounds from OG Anunoby. New York held a decisive 48-27 edge on the boards. Jalen Johnson recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, while Dyson Daniels had 17 points. Atlanta were limited to four fastbreak points.