SAN ANTONIO – The Spurs may have a bigger concern than a Game 2 loss.
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama left Tuesday night’s playoff game after hitting his face on the floor and was later diagnosed with a concussion, leaving his availability for Game 3 uncertain as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied for a 106-103 win to even the first-round series at 1-1.
Wembanyama went down at the 8:57 mark of the second quarter during a drive to the basket. He appeared dazed as he got to his feet and eventually headed to the locker room. He did not return and was ruled out under concussion protocol. ESPN later reported the diagnosis, and he is scheduled for further testing Wednesday.
"I just know he has a concussion, and he's in the protocol, and we'll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "You know, it's tough. That protocol is the protocol, so we'll just follow it, as everyone else does, and plan accordingly."
Without their star, the Spurs built a fourth-quarter lead but couldn’t hold on.
San Antonio carried a one-point edge into the final period and opened the quarter on a 13-0 run to go up 93-79. But Portland stormed back behind Scoot Henderson, who scored a season-high 31 points.
"To have a game like that, in the playoffs against a great team like the Spurs, it's something else," Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter said of Henderson. "Not just offensively, but defensively. You know, he carried us, scored when we needed, got stops and really won the game for us."
The Trail Blazers took the lead for good on a 7-0 run capped by a Jrue Holiday layup with 2:02 remaining.
Robert Williams III added a putback dunk with 12 seconds left to push Portland ahead 104-101. Devin Vassell hit two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one, but Toumani Camara answered with two free throws with 5.2 seconds left.
Vassell had a chance to tie the game on a corner 3-pointer in the final seconds, but the shot rolled out.
"They're physical," Vassell said. "They got a lot of good guards who run on the ball and are physical on the ball. So late game execution, we just got to be better. Get into our spots, setting, you know, good screens, getting the matchups that we want."
The Spurs now face the possibility of continuing the series without Wembanyama.
"We all got to step up," Vassell said of potentially playing without Wembanyama. "We know what Vic brings to the table and we've played without him couple games this year. It's just gonna be the next man up. We know everybody's got to step up. That's a huge void to fill."
Henderson led all scorers with 19 points before halftime and finished with 31. Jrue Holiday added 16 points for Portland, while Deni Avdija scored 14. Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Camara added 10.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points. De'Aaron Fox had 17, Vassell finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Dylan Harper and Luke Kornet each scored 10.
Portland heads home with the series tied, with Games 3 and 4 set for Friday and Sunday.
"I love the pressure, first and foremost," Henderson said. "I love the pressure, whether I had the ball in my hands the whole game or not, but the role that I'm in right now, I'm just, I'm really doing whatever is best for my team. I'm like, we're trying to win, so I'm not thinking too much about it but when I get the ball I try to attack, make a play, make something happen."
—Field Level Media