The San Antonio Spurs dismantled the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday night, closing out their first-round series 4-1 and marching into the Western Conference semi-finals for the first time since 2017. Victor Wembanyama anchored the victory with 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, yet the scoreline understated San Antonio’s dominance: the hosts never trailed, led by as many as 28, and won their third consecutive game by double digits after dropping Game 2. De’Aaron Fox added 21 points, Julian Champagnie 19 and rookie Dylan Harper 17, as the Spurs executed with a precision that belied their youth. For a franchise still defined by the Kawhi Leonard era, the return to the conference’s final four carries symbolic weight, but the clinical manner of the series win suggests this group intends to linger.

Deni Avdija’s breakout campaign ended in frustration, despite his team-high 22 points. The Israeli forward, fresh from becoming his nation’s first NBA All-Star, shot 1-of-6 from three-point range as Portland converted a meagre 23 percent of its long-range attempts. The Blazers’ collapse was the culmination of a pattern: they held half-time leads in Games 3 and 4 at home only to be outscored by wide margins after the interval. Viewed from Tel Aviv, Avdija’s ascent remains the season’s enduring story, but the team’s inability to sustain intensity against Wembanyama’s interior presence exposed the gap between a feel-good narrative and a genuine contender.

Analysts in London note that the Western Conference bracket is already tilting unpredictably. Oklahoma City humbled Phoenix with a clean sweep, and Denver took a 3-2 lead over Minnesota after the Timberwolves lost Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo to injury in the same contest. The Spurs now await the winner of that series, knowing that an opponent stripped of its best player and a key role player would offer a less daunting semi-final gateway. Yet San Antonio’s own evolution, built around Wembanyama’s two-way gravitational pull and Fox’s playmaking, suggests they are not merely beneficiaries of fortune.

Meanwhile, in Houston, an era stands on the precipice. Kevin Durant is expected to miss Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers with a bone bruise in his sprained left ankle, and the Lakers’ 3-1 lead makes a Rockets comeback improbable. The 37-year-old forward’s contract and the whispers of a summer trade — with destinations from Miami to New York already floated — loom over the franchise. From the perspective of Houston’s front office, the series against LeBron James’s Lakers was always a stark measuring stick, and the abrupt end to Durant’s participation underscores the fragility of building around ageing superstars even when they remain transcendent when healthy.

In the Eastern Conference, Toronto’s unexpected deadlock with Cleveland at two games apiece has turned a presumed walkover into genuine suspense, reminding the league that form is never fixed in April. But it is the Western landscape that holds the greatest fascination. San Antonio, once a dynasty, now charges forward on the shoulders of a generationally unique talent. Should the Spurs punch through to the conference finals, the conversation will shift from potential to immediacy. For Portland and Houston, the off-season begins with haunting questions: how close are they to contention, and what price are they willing to pay to close the gap?