SAN ANTONIO — When San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama jogged to the locker room Tuesday night at 8:57 of the second quarter after his face slammed to the floor, everything changed for San Antonio.
He was ruled out for the game shortly after entering concussion protocol, and the Spurs were forced to regroup.
They led by double-digits late in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t find any consistent offense down the stretch as Portland stayed steady and out-shot and outworked San Antonio in Game 2 to claim a 106-103 victory that evened the first-round playoff series.
Here are the key takeaways for how the Trail Blazers capitalized on their big opportunity Tuesday night:
Life without Wemby
With Wembanyama ruled out early in the second quarter, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson turned to a seldomly used lineup to keep his team afloat: Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet. The combination of four guards and Kornet played just 29 minutes together this season, but outperformed teams by a +12.6 net rating — as well as operated at a pace that would rank at the top of the league.
The drawbacks to a lack of size against one of the larger playoff teams around were apparent, but the benefits and potential tradeoffs were too tantalizing to ignore. All four guards are capable of initiating and finishing plays, can create for others as well as themselves and can space the floor. At the other end, what they lack in size they make up for in speed, smarts and connectivity. San Antonio played Portland evenly for the remainder of the half and those players helped the Spurs extend their lead in the fourth quarter, something to monitor moving forward depending on how many non-Wembanyama minutes the Spurs will play in the coming days.
Unfortunately with no Wemby available, the smallish Spurs were exploited on the glass late and the offense collapsed down the stretch as the squad seemed to lack the connectivity and familiarity that had been its hallmark.
The emergence of Scoot Henderson
Around the six-minute mark of the first quarter, Blazers guard Scoot Henderson drilled his second 3 of the game, giving him 10 early points and the Blazers a surprise 22-9 lead over the Spurs. But it wasn’t his shot-making ability that was making the most waves. Henderson’s activity at the other end — pressuring the ball and more importantly, being an active ballhawk in passing lanes — was the key to Portland keeping Frost Bank Center on edge.
On two separate occasions, Henderson was at the heart of breaking up a Castle alley-oop and what would have been a key entry pass to Wembanyama. Henderson appeared in only 30 games during the regular season due to injury, but his defensive impact as a sharp, rangy lateral stopper is clear. Henderson ranked third in deflections per game, and the Blazers were nearly four points better per 100 possessions defensively in his minutes, good for 79th percentile.
Offensive consistency has always been an issue with the 22-year-old electric guard, but he seems to be figuring things out on the biggest stage and his penchant for making defensive plays — even in his limited time — is a huge chunk of the Blazers’ viability.
Henderson scored five points in the last five minutes of the game and was vital as Portland closed things out down the stretch.
Henderson led all scorers in Game 2 with 31 points, hitting five 3s and finishing plus-9 in what seemed to be a legit breakout performance.
Spurs will need to step up
When Spurs reserve Keldon Johnson first stepped on the floor, his team trailed 17-9 and looked like it was sleepwalking. By the time the buzzer for the first quarter sounded and Johnson walked off the floor, San Antonio had retaken the lead.
Johnson’s plus-9 led all players on the floor at the time, an indication of his simple approach to basketball that continues to yield positive results. Johnson’s game isn’t particulalrly flashy — he recorded a steal, assist and rebound during his initial stint — but his constant motor, energy and intangibles are vital for a team that was somewhat lethargic to begin the game.
The combination of Johnson and rookie guard Harper — the latter of which continues to provide a huge boost in the playmaking, downhill driving and gravitational department but seemed to aggravate his wrist Tuesday night— is an underlying storyline in a series that just got a whole lot more interesting.
Johnson finished the game plus-7 with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, but more will be needed if Wembanyama misses Game 3 in Portland.
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