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Spurs’ Dylan Harper reveals secret to Game 3 takeover vs. Blazers without Victor Wembanyama
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- Spurs’ Dylan Harper reveals secret to Game 3 takeover vs. Blazers without Victor Wembanyama
Spurs’ Dylan Harper reveals secret to Game 3 takeover vs. Blazers without Victor Wembanyama appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
For the majority of his rookie season, Dylan Harper not only sat in the shadows for the San Antonio Spurs , he has been fine with it. But in a come-from-behind 120-108 Game 3 victory at the Portland Trail Blazers , Harper enjoyed what could be the first of many great career moments in the NBA Playoffs.
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With no Victor Wembanyama , the rookie from Rutgers helped save the Spurs from a a 2-1 Western Conference first-round series deficit.
“(As a) collective group, I think the energy was kind of down. And when I came in the game, my biggest focus was not to try to get it all at once; just try to be that energy guy that came in and played hard,” Harper revealed.
After a pedestrian first half for San Antonio , the West’s second seed faced a 15-point deficit in the third quarter. Harper’s 22 second-half points and 27 overall helped completely swing the game the other way. At one point in the fourth, the Silver and Black took a 15-point lead.
“Once I started doing that,'” Harper continued in alluding to playing with greater energy. “I think the game kind of just opened up, whether that was me getting offensive rebounds or me getting in transition.”
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The rookie guard helped spearhead a 21-5 Spurs run that gave them a one-point lead going into the final frame.
Dylan Harper ’s fellow rookie, Carter Bryant , also shines for Spurs
While Harper went second overall in this past summer’s draft, the Spurs took Carter Bryant with the 14th pick. Harper took over Game 3 vs. the Blazers offensively , but the rookie from Arizona clamped down defensively while also hitting a big shot of his own.
“I told him, once he hit that step-back 3, I’m like, ‘Yo, this is time for you to turn it up a notch. I mean, we’ve been waiting for this. Me and you always wanted to play with each other even in college and now we’ve got an opportunity to flip this game,'” Harper said of Bryant.
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“He did a great job of just being himself, and I kind of just helped him get there,” the son of former NBA great Ron Harper continued.
The relationship between Harper and Bryant goes back several years .
“I’m the biggest Carter Bryant fan so if anyone else tells you that, that’s false. I mean, I’ve known him since freshman, sophomore year of high school,” the 20-year-old rookie said of his fellow 20-year-old first-year Spur.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I know and what he’s done to get here from then to now is unbelievable; just his determination, his willingness to be himself while also putting in the work no matter what. There are days where he’s playing five-on-five before the game and he’s tired, but he has that kind of dedication to push through. I was so happy for him,” Harper continued.
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With Victor Wembanyama ’s status because of a concussion uncertain big picture, “happy” is an accurate way to describe the Spurs’ feeling about both.
Related: Is Blazers’ Damian Lillard returning for Game 4 vs. Spurs?
Related: Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama will play in Game 4 vs. Blazers after clearing concussion protocol
