SAN ANTONIO —A game-winning heave from San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell fell short of the rim as San Antonio fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 106-103 on Tuesday at the Frost Bank Center.
After losing the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama to a concussion in the second quarter, the Spurs found themselves in a dog fight against the Trail Blazers. Both teams continued to trade blows, with neither side letting up until there were mere seconds left. Despite leading for a majority of the second half, timely scores from Portland allowed the Blazers to hold a brief lead with just under a minute to go. San Antonio saw multiple opportunities to tie or win the game, but each attempt came up short. Defensively, without its superstar, San Antonio allowed Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson to score 31 points in the contest, leading to the playoff defeat. Spurs guard Stephon Castle led the team with 18 points, though it proved inconsequential.
Midway through the second quarter, a hard foul from Holiday sent Wembanyama to the floor, bouncing his head off the hardwood. Wembanyama struggled to get up, continuously shaking his head and grimacing in pain. After rising on his own, the center immediately headed to the locker room, where he was put in concussion protocol and ruled ineligible for the rest of the game.
Despite the center’s absence, San Antonio managed to carve out a one-point lead with two minutes left. The advantage was short-lived, as a quick layup from Holiday gave the Blazers their first lead of the half at 102-101. After an empty San Antonio possession, Blazers guard Deni Avdija drove to the basket and found center Robert Williams III for the alley-oop dunk. The now three-point deficit forced San Antonio into a game-tying three-point attempt, but Portland chose to foul instead, sending Vassell to the charity stripe. The guard made both, leaving San Antonio to once again foul and send Portland to the line. Portland made both, and the Spurs inbounded the ball quickly, finding Vassell for the tying attempt. The shot fell short, and Portland escaped San Antonio with the victory.
Five Spurs broke double-digit scoring, including Castle. Guard De’Aaron Fox chipped in with 17, and Vassell followed behind with 16. While San Antonio made up for the offensive absence of Wembanyama, it failed to recreate his impact on the defensive end. The Spurs allowed the Trail Blazers’ backcourt of Holiday and Henderson to combine for 47 points, nullifying any defensive advantage the Spurs possessed.
San Antonio routinely struggled to limit Portland’s offensive execution. Rim protection was average at best, as the Trail Blazers tallied 40 points in the paint. The Spurs will head to Portland for game three at 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Moda Center, streaming on WOAI NBC News Channel 4 San Antonio.
