SAN ANTONIO – Playoff basketball brought the drama on the court and a bit of playful chaos in the stands, as San Antonio Spurs fans found a new target of good-natured trolling: Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija’s chipped tooth.
Before and during Tuesday night’s Game 5 at Frost Bank Center, the Spurs Jackals leaned into Avdija’s chipped tooth by waving around small tooth props and turning it into an unexpected in-arena joke. (In case you missed it, Avdija chipped a tooth in Game 3 during a collision with De’Aaron Fox.)
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“The Spurs Jackals showing love to Deni,” the Jackals said in an Instagram caption.
Avdija, for his part, didn’t bite on the distraction, continuing to play through the noise while focusing on the action.
The Spurs Jackals are a group of superfans that launched this season with support from Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. The group’s approach is inspired by global soccer-style supporter culture, particularly in Europe, where coordinated chanting and singing throughout matches is common.
As for the Spurs, they beat the Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday night.
San Antonio advances to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2017, when they defeated the Houston Rockets before losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and then getting swept by Golden State in the conference finals.
The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.
Read more: Wembanyama’s double-double powers Spurs past Trail Blazers and into Western Conference semifinals