Spurs overwhelm Blazers late in Wembanyama’s return

Portland, Ore. – San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama didn’t shine offensively early, but his strong defense laid the foundation for a comeback Sunday that kept the Portland Trail Blazers from the brink of elimination.

Wembanyama recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds along with seven blocks and four steals as San Antonio overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Trail Blazers 114–93 in Game 4 to take a 3–1 lead in the Western Conference first-round series. In his first game since suffering an injury in Game 2, Wembanyama became the first player to have at least 25 points and five blocks in his first career postseason road game since 1973–74, when blocks became an official statistic, according to ESPN Research.

“Obviously this is special,” Vembanyama said. “I had a lot of emotions before the game, obviously, excitement, disappointment. So, I let it all out today.”

Those feelings stemmed from Wembanyama wanting to play in Friday’s Game 3 at Moda Center after successfully moving through the NBA’s concussion protocol. Sources told ESPN that Wembanyama and the team were optimistic that the league would clear him to return for Game 3. But Wembanyama did not receive final approval from the NBA until about an hour before tipoff for Game 4.

“I won’t go into details,” he said. “I don’t want it to be a distraction. Ask me again after the season. All the doctors, especially at Spurs, but the doctors all around, they were great, they took great care of me. But the way the situation was handled was very disappointing. Not at Spurs. But as I say, I won’t go into details.”

San Antonio’s comeback win became the first team in NBA history to trail by 15 points or more at halftime and win by more than 15 points. The Spurs trailed by 17 points at intermission and started the second half on a 13–0 run and got within four on a Devin Vassell dunk after just 3 minutes, 54 seconds. Wembanyama tied the score at 74-74 on a tip dunk just before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter.

According to ESPN Research, the Spurs outscored the Trail Blazers 73–35 in the second half, the second-largest point differential (38) in the second half of a playoff game in NBA history, behind the Golden State Warriors’ 39-point differential in the second half of Game 6 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets.

Wembanyama and the Spurs outscored Portland 34-16 in that span.

In Game 4, San Antonio overcame a 15-point deficit in the third quarter, their largest playoff comeback win since Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

“The games have unfolded in such a way that it will be very clear to us that you can’t go into the game on tiptoe or with the wrong approach,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “On the road, it’s probably four or five times where the game can slip away and the other team can grab some momentum. They’ve shown tremendous courage in reacting to where we were a few times in the second half in the last two games.”

According to ESPN Research, Portland is now the third team in the last 20 postseasons to lose consecutive home playoff games by leading by more than 15 points.

Vassell scored a team-high nine points in the third quarter, while De’Aaron Fox added seven of his game-high 28 points. Vembanyama scored six points, blocked four shots and recorded one steal.

“This Vic is the best player in the world and we know he can do it,” Vassell said. “For him to be able to dominate on both ends of the floor isn’t really a surprise anymore. You expect it. You expect that type of greatness from him and that’s what we need from him every game.”

Joining Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Alonzo Mourning, Wembanyama is now the fourth player to score 60 points, grab 20 rebounds and have at least 10 blocks in the first three playoff games of his career.

Wembanyama started out slow on offense and finished with nine points on 4 of 12 shooting in the first half, along with two blocks and a steal. In the final quarter, he made all three of his shots, drained all six of his free throws and contributed two steals and a block to pace a Spurs team that defeated the Trail Blazers 40–19.

“We have to fight back,” Fox said. “When we lose, we figure out why. We try to fix it. When a team gets ahead, you feel the electricity in the building, especially in a playoff game. We felt that way. And once we tied the game, we started feeling good about it.”

In the three games Wembanyama has played in the series, he has given up just 10 points while contesting one shot, holding Portland to 5 of 30 shooting and blocking 10 shots.

San Antonio will host Game 5 on Tuesday at Frost Bank Center.

“We have to find answers before our backs are against the wall,” Vembanyama said. “But it also shows the strength of our team. In adversity, we stick together. We come closer to each other. We feed off each other’s energy.”