Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut went perfectly on Sunday night.
Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a commanding 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers to kick off their playoff series. He had 35 points and five rebounds to power the team to the win at the Frost Bank Center, which was packed with Spurs fans in striped Fiesta-themed playoff shirts that more than met the moment — considering it was the team’s first playoff game since 2019.
Wembanyama wasted no time getting going, either. He dropped 21 points in the first half alone, which set an NBA play-by-play record for the most points scored in the opening half of a playoff debut, and sent the Spurs into the locker room with a double-digit lead. That broke the previous mark of 20 points held by both Kyrie Irving and Brandon Jennings.
Wembanyama went an impressive 8-of-13 from the field in the first 24 minutes, and did a little bit of everything with ease — including absolutely working Deni Adija to set up a wild dunk in the first quarter.
But Portland opened the second half on an 8-0 run, which cut the game back to just a single possession and forced a Spurs timeout not even three minutes into the period. The first half advantage they had built up disappeared almost immediately.
Spurs hold on for dominant win
Wembanyama didn’t score at all in the third quarter, but he didn’t need to. The Spurs, after nearly blowing their lead, erupted on a 13-4 run and pushed the lead to 15 points at its peak in the final minutes of the period. Then, just minutes into the fourth quarter, Wembanyama rolled to the bench high-fiving everyone after blocking Jerami Grant at the rim without even leaving his feet to set up an easy fast-break layup that put the Spurs up by 21.
Since that 8-0 run from Portland, the Spurs went on a massive 32-13 tear to take full control of the game right back. From there, they simply held on the rest of the way to secure the win and take the 1-0 series lead.
Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the loss. Scoot Henderson added 18 points. Portland shot just 26% from behind the arc.
Wembanyama’s 35 points were the most by a Spurs player in their NBA playoff debut, though it still trailed Luka Dončić’s all-time record of 42. Wembanyama was named a finalist for the NBA’s Defensive Player fo the Year and MVP awards on Sunday, too. Both Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox added 17 points each to go with Wembanyama’s 35, and Devin Vassell finished with 15 points.
The Spurs still have a long way to go to win what would be their first playoff series in just shy of a decade. Sunday night was only Game 1, after all. But Wembanyama didn’t flinch in his first taste of the NBA playoffs, and the Spurs look like legitimate contenders in the Western Conference largely because of him.
Read the full article here