The San Antonio Spurs have taken a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers after a resilient comeback from down 19 points before the half to eventually win by 21 points (114-93).
With nearly two minutes left in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs blew the game apart with a 12-point lead, a scuffle broke out between Deni Avdija and Stephon Castle as officials were forced to intervene.
Following the game, Deni Avdija addressed the media and called out Stephon Castle for being unnecessarily disrespectful towards him.
“I think he’s a good player. I have a lot of respect for him. But the thing at the end with shoving the ball in my chest is unnecessary,” said Avdija.
“I don’t play those games. That’s not who I am. You can be tough, you can be physical, but there’s a level of disrespect I’m not going to accept. He’s done a lot of provocation throughout the whole game. At one point, it was just disrespectful. And as I said, I’m not playing like that.”
Castle was clearly fouled on his drive multiple times, as Deni Avdija tried to be physical when the game had reached a point of desperation. But the former Rookie of the Year was aggressive with his drive and managed to split the defender to finish his shot and get a continuation to potentially grow the lead to 15 points.
After the whistle, Castle pushed the ball into Deni Avdija. Tempers flared as the Trail Blazers’ All-Star pushed him back. Castle also managed to shove him as they exchanged words before the officials and other team members separated the two players.
Stephon Castle and Deni Avdija received double techs for this sequence at the end of Spurs-Blazers Game 4. pic.twitter.com/IJx90QJlhp
— ESPN (@espn) April 26, 2026
Both of them yelled at each other, and the broadcast appeared to capture Deni Avdija shouting profanity at Stephon Castle. This is the intensity of the NBA playoffs in its prime.
“B—h!” Avdija seemed to yell as even the Blazers’ coaching staff came onto the court to pull their All-Star player back. The play was eventually assessed a double-technical foul on both players.
The Israeli All-Star finished the game with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He shot 8-14 from the floor (57.1 FG%) and 2-3 from beyond the arc (66.7 3P%).
But as much as he tried to push his team ahead on the offensive end, his defensive performance was not very noteworthy. He finished the game with a -16 net (+/-) rating and eventually fouled out of the game.
Meanwhile, Castle finished the game with 16 points, eight assists, one rebound, and one steal while shooting 6-14 from the floor (42.9 FG%) and 3-6 from beyond the arc (50.0 3P%).
The Spurs got the last laugh and now return home in the driving position to take this series. Can the Trail Blazers bounce back from here? Or will the Spurs close this one out in Game 5? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
