The Trail Blazers welcome Shaedon Sharpe back after the loss to the Spurs

The Portland Trail Blazers failed to take advantage of Shaedon Sharpe’s return Thursday night at the San Antonio Spurs, losing 118-105.

Sharpe came off the bench to score 13 points, but his presence wasn’t enough for the Blazers to overcome a poor three-point shooting night and the Spurs’ even score.

Portland shot 47.7% from the field but hit just 9 of 32 (28.1%) on three-point attempts.

“I just felt like we were chasing the whole game,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters at Frost Bank Center. “I really did. We never really found a rhythm.”

Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant each scored 21 points to lead the Blazers, who also got 19 points and seven assists from Anfernee Simons.

Nobody on the Spurs reached the 20-point mark. However, eight of the ten players who scored double figures a few minutes before mass substitutions and less than 30 seconds left.

Guards Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham each scored 17 points. Center Victor Wembanyama added 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

“I thought we did a good job with him,” Billups said of Wembanyama. “I really did. We swapped who was guarding him. We did a few things… He’s a player who tries to make the right pass, even if you’re good at it. He won’t overshoot because you did a good job on him.”

San Antonio’s bench scored 61 points compared to 31 for the Blazers.

“Their bench was just incredible,” Billups said.

The Spurs shot 16 of 29 from three-point range (41.0%) and 44 of 82 from the field (53.7%) while dishing out 35 assists.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Blazers (3-6) missed a chance to win before facing Minnesota in three of their next four games, with Memphis in the middle.

The Spurs (4-5) were without coach Gregg Popovich, who suffered health problems on Saturday.

SHARPE RETURNS

Sharpe shot 6 of 9 from the field for 13 points in his first appearance of the season after being sidelined with a shoulder injury. He also recorded two rebounds and one assist in just over 20 appearances.

“I thought Shaedon played really well,” Billups said. “He looked comfortable.”

BANTON FIGHTS

Blazers guard/forward Dalano Banton played before the fourth quarter and things didn’t go well.

Banton played only in the fourth quarter of the Blazers’ last two games in Phoenix and New Orleans, scoring 32 points on 13 of 16 shooting (81.3%) in just under 24 minutes.

For the Spurs, Banton first entered the game in the first quarter, playing 16 minutes and 20 seconds but scoring just four points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Next

The Blazers end their road trip with a 6 p.m. game on Friday at the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3).