Victor Wembanyama returned from a concussion and delivered a dominant performance, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-93 and take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.
De’Aaron Fox added 28 points as the Spurs, who will host Game Five on Tuesday, pulled away late after erasing a 17-point halftime deficit. San Antonio trailed by 17 at the break but the game was tied 74-74 entering the fourth quarter. Fox and Keldon Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Spurs in front 90-77 with 7:14 remaining, and Johnson’s dunk with 4:31 left made it 101-81, all but sealing the win.
The team announced roughly an hour before tipoff that Wembanyama, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year at 7-foot-4, had cleared the league’s concussion protocol and would play. After the game he called the way his return and the concussion protocol were handled “very disappointing,” while also saying he was treated well by the Spurs’ medical staff. He declined to elaborate, asking reporters to “ask him at the end of the season.”
“We need to find the answers before having our back against the wall,” Wembanyama said of the comeback. “But that also shows the strength of our team in adversity. We stick together. We get closer to each other, we feed off of each other’s energy.”
Deni Avdija led Portland with 26 points. With 2:13 remaining a skirmish broke out between Avdija and Stephon Castle; both were assessed offsetting technical fouls. “You can be tough, you can be, you know, physical, but there’s a level of disrespect that I’m not gonna accept,” Avdija said about the exchange.
Wembanyama suffered a concussion in the first half of San Antonio’s 106-103 loss on Tuesday and missed Game Three on Friday. The Spurs rallied in that outing, winning 120-108 to take the series lead before Wednesday’s decisive Game Four victory.