PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Toumani Camara had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers held off a late rally by the San Antonio Spurs for a 120-109 victory on Sunday night.
Both teams were mathematically alive for a play-in spot going into the game, but were eliminated by Sacramento's 120-113 victory over Cleveland.
Click to Gallery
San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo, center right, celebrates after dunking against the Portland Trail Blazers with guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) drives to the basket as Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Jabari Walker (34) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, right, collide during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Dalano Banton (5) looks to shoot over San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
CORRECTS TO SUNDAY NOT SATURDAY - Portland Trail Blazers forward Justin Minaya (10) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, left, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, front left, drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, right, grab for the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle (4) passes the ball away from San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo (18) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) shoots against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Stephon Castle finished with 22 points for the Spurs.
The Spurs trailed for most of the game, but Chris Paul's layup and free throw got San Antonio within 108-102 before Camara made a 3-pointer to end the threat.
The possibility of making the playoffs after a three-year drought was enough to keep Portland going down the final stretch.
“Guys got up for the challenge every single game, I mean every game, got up for the challenge of it, chased that thing,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “I just love how we showed up. So many games that we didn’t play great, but man, we were scrapping our butts off understanding what was on the line.”
The Spurs were hurt in late February when Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder and sidelined for the rest of the season.
The Blazers led by as many as 17 points early, but the Spurs went closed within 45-44 late in the first half. Portland led 54-45 at the break.
Spurs: Won the first three games of the season against the Blazers.
Blazers: Portland was without Scoot Henderson (concussion), Deni Avdija (thumb), Duop Reath (right knee) and Anfernee Simons (right forearm).
The Spurs closed to within 97-88 in the fourth quarter, but Kris Murray’s bounce pass found Camara for the layup to extend Portland’s lead to double digits again.
Murray had a season-high 18 points for Portland.
Spurs: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Trail Blazers: Visit the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo, center right, celebrates after dunking against the Portland Trail Blazers with guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) drives to the basket as Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley (14) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Jabari Walker (34) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, right, collide during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Dalano Banton (5) looks to shoot over San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
CORRECTS TO SUNDAY NOT SATURDAY - Portland Trail Blazers forward Justin Minaya (10) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, left, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, front left, drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, right, grab for the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle (4) passes the ball away from San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo (18) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) shoots against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, April 6, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians are voting Sunday in the country’s presidential election runoff, facing the choice between incumbent President Daniel Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa González.
Noboa, a conservative young millionaire, and González have both promised voters solutions to the extortions, killings, kidnappings and other crimes that became part of everyday life as the country emerged from the pandemic. Analysts expect the result in Sunday’s vote to have a very tight margin.
It’s the second presidential runoff election in less than two years in the South American country, where voting is mandatory.
Voters chose Noboa over González in the runoff of a snap election in October 2023. The candidates advanced to Sunday’s contest after polling most votes in February’s first-round election. Noboa won 44.17% of the votes while González garnered 44%.
Voters are primarily worried about the violence that transformed the country, starting in 2021 — a spike in crime tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru.
Both candidates have promised tough-on-crime policies, better equipment for law enforcement and international help to fight drug cartels and local criminal groups.
“My vote is clear,” said Irene Valdez, a retiree who voted for Noboa. “I want to continue living in freedom.”
Martín Constante, a 19-year-old university student, had a different view. “I think Luisa is going to change things, because Noboa has been very authoritarian,” he said. “Our country needs a lot of changes.”
More than 13 million people are eligible to vote, which is mandatory for adults up to the age of 65. It is optional for people aged 16 and 17 and over 65. Failure to vote results in a $46 fine.
In 2023, Noboa and González were largely unknown to most voters as they sought the presidency for the first time. They were first-term lawmakers in May 2023, when then-President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly, shortening his own mandate as a result and triggering that year’s snap election.
Noboa’s first foray into politics was his stint as lawmaker. An heir to a fortune built on the banana trade, Noboa opened an event-organizing company when he was 18 and then joined his father’s Noboa Corp., where he held management positions in the shipping, logistics and commercial areas.
González, 47, held various government jobs during the presidency of Rafael Correa, who led Ecuador from 2007 through 2017 with free-spending socially conservative policies and grew increasingly authoritarian in his last years as president.
Noboa, 37, declared Ecuador to be in a state of “internal armed conflict” in January 2024, allowing him to deploy thousands of soldiers to the streets to combat gangs and to charge people with terrorism counts for alleged ties to organized crime groups.
Under his watch, the homicide rate dropped from 46.18 per 100,000 people in 2023, to 38.76 per 100,000 people in 2024. But despite the decrease, the rate remained far higher than the 6.85 homicides per 100,000 people seen in 2019.
Some of Noboa’s heavy-handed crime-fighting tactics have come under scrutiny for testing the limits of laws and norms of governing. He has also been criticized for allegations of electoral anomalies he made after February’s vote.
Following the first-round election, Noboa said there had been “many irregularities” and that in certain provinces “there were things that didn’t add up.” He provided no further details or evidence. Electoral observers from the Organization of American States and the European Union ruled out fraud.
Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential election runoff in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate from the Citizen Revolution party, speaks after voting in the presidential election runoff in Canuto, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Ochoa)
A police officer holds his ballot during the presidential election runoff in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate from the Citizen Revolution party, waves to supporters after voting in the presidential election runoff in Canuto, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Ochoa)
Women line up to vote in the presidential election runoff in Latacunga, Ecuador. Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate from the Citizen Revolution party, greets supporters after voting in the presidential election runoff in Canuto, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Ochoa)
A man votes in the presidential election runoff in Latacunga, Ecuador. Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Incumbent President Daniel Noboa watches as his wife, Lavinia Valbonesi, votes in the presidential election runoff in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Incumbent President Daniel Noboa arrives to accompany his wife, Lavinia Valbonesi, to the polls for the presidential election runoff in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
A voter stands next to a soldier guarding a polling station during the presidential election runoff in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
A soldier directs a nun to her polling station during the presidential election runoff in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
Navy soldiers and reservists stand in formation before heading out to guard polling stations in preparation for Sunday's presidential runoff election, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Soldiers stand behind fences placed around the Government Palace in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 11, 2025. Ecuadoreans go to the polls on April 13 to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
A campaign poster of Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution party, hangs by a piece of tape on a wall in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Friday, April 11, 2025. Ecuadoreans go to the polls on April 13 to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Supporters of incumbent presidential candidate Daniel Noboa cheer him on during a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
Posters of incumbent presidential candidate Daniel Noboa cover street poles in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Friday, April 11, 2025. Ecuadoreans go to the polls on April 13 to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
A mural of Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution party, covers a wall in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Thursday, April 10, 2025. Ecuadoreans go to the polls on April 13 to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Army soldiers carry electoral kits at a polling station in preparation for Sunday's presidential runoff election, in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
FILES - This combo shows Luisa Gonzalez, presidential candidate from the Citizen Revolution party, left, and Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa, speaking at separate events in Quito, Ecuador on Jan. 19, 2025 and Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, Files)
