Michael C. Wright
Multiple Authors
PORTLAND, Ore. — As a left-handed guard who comes off the bench, Spurs rookie Dylan Harper mentioned he gravitated towards a fellow lefty sixth man in San Antonio legend Manu Ginobili, who now works for the group as a particular adviser.
“I play a role I’m not used to [off the bench],” Harper mentioned after the Spurs’ 120-108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Friday night time’s Game 3, “but he kind of put in my head that you’ve got to impact the game in any way you can.”
With Victor Wembanyama sitting out as he works by the protocol from a concussion suffered in Game 2, Harper was in a position to just do that Friday night time, teaming with second-year guard Stephon Castle to steer San Antonio to a come-from-behind victory and take a 2-1 collection lead.
Harper and Castle grew to become the second pair of teammates age 21 or youthful to every rating 25 factors or extra in a playoff sport, with Harper coming off the bench to ship 27 factors and Castle scoring a game-high 33. They joined former Oklahoma City Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who completed the feat in Game 3 of the 2010 opening spherical in opposition to the Los Angeles Lakers, in keeping with ESPN Research.
Harper, who scored 22 factors in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, grew to become the youngest participant (20 years, 53 days) to attain 25 factors as a reserve in a playoff sport.
Harper, who totaled simply 16 factors in the primary two video games of the collection, mentioned Ginobili has been a mentor to him, including that the Hall of Famer’s “mentality” is what he tries to emulate most.
“We have conversations about my role and stuff like that,” Harper mentioned. “It’s next game up. If you have a bad game, once you get out of the shower, it’s next game.”
Castle, who additionally had 5 assists, grew to become the youngest in Spurs historical past (21 years, 174 days) to complete a postseason sport with not less than 30 factors and 5 assists.
The duo helped the Spurs go on an 18-3 run to beat a 15-point deficit in the third quarter, their largest playoff comeback since Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals. Harper capped the run with a pair of free throws that tied the rating at 85.
Harper contributed 12 of San Antonio’s 29 factors in the third quarter, taking pictures 3-of-4 from the sphere and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He additionally had an help, a steal and a block.
“Super talented, played a downhill game,” Castle mentioned of Harper. “The guy got to his spots. We don’t expect [anything] less [because of] how much work he puts in, how confident he is. Once you play a team a certain amount of times, you start to figure each other out and you just have to grind those games out. Every possession matters.”
Game 3 grew to become a showcase of guard play, with Castle and Harper dueling sturdy performances from the Trail Blazers backcourt of Jrue Holiday (29 factors) and Scoot Henderson (21 factors).
Holiday’s efficiency marked his sixth profession playoff sport with not less than 25 factors, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, in keeping with ESPN Research. Veteran Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, in the meantime, shook off a sluggish begin to end with 18 factors and 6 assists.
“We kept working the game,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson mentioned. “I thought over the duration of it, we just stayed with it. We started getting incremental things that were going our way whether we were starting to get a little more downhill offensively, the spacing got better. We started passing the ball over the guys, letting the ball breathe a little bit and kept moving side to side.”
