Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images The Spurs had the guts in the fourth quarter The short-staffed Spurs came into Portland having won two of its last five and got back on track with a close win against the struggling Trail Blazers. The offense scored 124.2 points per 100 possessions against a set defense for 90.5 percent of the time, per Cleaning the Glass. And Victor Wembanyama looked human by his standards, but his 28 points and backline defense was too much for hosts as the Spurs made a mad fourth quarter rally to win 118-116 after being down by 17 points 8 minutes earlier. The Spurs were missing Tre Jones (sprained left shoulder, Stephon Castle (left shoulder contusion), Keldon Johnson (left calf strain) and Zach Collins (bruised lower back). Observations The Spurs are the second-worst first-quarter team (29th in net rating) in the NBA. They opened the game unserious on defense, permitting the hosts five of seven baskets before a disgusted Mitch Johnson called for a stoppage with his team down 12-5. Then the squad went on a 28-13 run, supplied by six Spurs. Chris Paul was ejected in the frame, too, receiving two technical fouls 11 seconds apart. Next, the second quarter was a mess on offense. The Spurs had six points on three of 12 shots in seven minutes. They still mostly had trouble producing without Paul’s organization until Devin Vassell made two shots and Wemby boat raced up court for a layup. Their saving grace was slowing down Portland to six of 19 field goals. Unlike themselves, the Spurs came out of halftime getting bombarded on defense, allowing Portland 46 points on 79 percent shooting, including eight points in the last 50 seconds of the third period. But the Spurs offense began percolating as the quarter went on. Wesley started the period, scoring multiple shots at the rim. Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes were the only other Spurs to make multiple shots in the quarter, but the team was down eight heading into the fourth. The Spurs surpassed Portland’s intensity level late while trading baskets. They scored 38 points on 62 percent shooting. Most of the destruction on the other side came from Anfernee Simons and Deni Avdija. But the Spurs who bailed out the team were Vassell, Barnes, Champagnie, Wembanyama and Sochan. Wembanyama’s defense forced pass outs and many misses in the lane. On offense, he tore up the Blazers from inside and out in the first half but slowed down in last two quarters, making just two of seven shots. Yet, he made the decisive freebies that gave the Spurs the late lead. Clingan was his toughest matchup because at 7 ‘2 with a wide body, he eats up space in the back and is hard to score on. Centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III were absent, which allowed the Spurs to control the rebounding. The Spurs won the rebounding battle by nine. Jeremy Sochan replaced Castle in the starting lineup. He was the most efficient contributor, making four of five shots in the first half. He did a good job of sticking to his man and getting open.