SAN ANTONIO (Interstat) — Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed as they eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Frost Bank Center.

De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 and Dylan Harper finished with 17 as the Spurs won their third straight game to take the series 4-1. San Antonio advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2017, when it beat Houston before losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and getting swept by Golden State.

The Spurs set the tone from the opening tip, scoring the first seven points and building a 12-point lead by the midpoint of the first quarter. Portland never got closer than five points the rest of the night, and San Antonio’s lead ballooned to 28 points in the second half.

San Antonio shot 41 of 75 from the floor, 12 of 30 from three-point range and 20 of 29 from the free-throw line. The Spurs committed 14 turnovers but blocked eight shots and held Portland to 33-of-94 shooting, including 11 of 47 from beyond the arc.

Wembanyama, who had struggled with foul trouble in Game 4 when he played only 12 minutes, was a force on both ends. He swatted three shots in the first quarter alone, including a denial of Toumani Camara’s driving layup that snuffed out an early Portland threat. His presence altered countless other attempts, and he finished with a game-best plus-minus rating.

Fox controlled the game from the point, dishing nine assists to go with his 21 points. He scored or assisted on 11 of San Antonio’s first 17 points, pushing the pace and finding open shooters. Champagnie was the beneficiary early, hitting three first-quarter three-pointers as the Spurs shot 59 percent from the field in the opening period.

Harper came off the bench to provide a spark, throwing down two alley-oop dunks in the second quarter and scoring 11 points in the first half. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Stephon Castle added 15 points, five assists and a block for San Antonio.

Portland’s Deni Avdija led all scorers with 22 points, but he needed 25 shots to get there and committed four turnovers. Robert Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes, and Sidy Cissoko also scored 11 points. Jerami Grant had 12 points and Donovan Clingan contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

The Trail Blazers, who finished the regular season 44-44, were trying to force a Game 6 back in Portland after winning Game 4 at home to stay alive. But they could not overcome a poor shooting night and an inability to contain San Antonio’s offense.

The game’s decisive stretch came in the first quarter. After Portland’s Avdija opened the scoring with a layup, San Antonio responded with a 10-0 run keyed by Champagnie’s three-pointers and Wembanyama’s dunk. The Spurs never trailed again. By the time Fox hit a three to make it 15-2, the outcome already felt inevitable.

Portland briefly cut the lead to seven late in the first quarter on a Robert Williams three-pointer, but San Antonio answered with a 9-2 run to start the second quarter. Harper’s dunk off a feed from Keldon Johnson pushed the lead to 47-34, and the Spurs took a 65-45 advantage into halftime.

The Trail Blazers came out of the break with a quick 6-2 spurt, but San Antonio quickly re-established control. Wembanyama blocked Avdija’s layup, and Castle hit consecutive three-pointers to push the lead back to 20. A flagrant foul on Avdija gave the Spurs three free throws and possession, and they stretched the margin to 86-65 late in the third quarter.

Portland made one last push in the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit to 91-88 on a Clingan three-pointer with 9:29 remaining. But San Antonio responded with a 13-2 run, capped by a Fox three and a Wembanyama dunk, and the lead was never in single digits again.

San Antonio’s offense operated with remarkable efficiency, scoring 114 points on 96 possessions for an offensive rating of 119.0. Portland managed only 95 points on 100 possessions, a rating of 95.1.

The Spurs also dominated the battle of the boards, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to Portland’s 14, but they limited the Trail Blazers to just eight assists and forced nine turnovers that led to easy transition opportunities.

Wembanyama, who had 27 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3 and 35 points in Game 1, was named the series MVP after averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the five games.

The game was played before a sellout crowd of 19,063 at Frost Bank Center.

Portland’s season ends with a first-round exit after it pushed San Antonio to five games. The Trail Blazers won Game 2 in San Antonio behind a balanced attack, but the Spurs responded with three straight wins, including a 114-93 rout in Portland in Game 3.

San Antonio now awaits the winner of the other Western Conference first-round series, with the second round set to begin later this week.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Antonio 121, Portland 109. San Antonio entered as a 11.5-point favorite, and the game’s total of 209 points went under the over/under line of 214.5. Interstat’s ELO system gave San Antonio a 90.20 percent probability to win.