Victor Wembanyama walked into the Moda Center and made the Portland Trail Blazers pay in just about every way possible.
In Portland’s return home after a four-game road trip, the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 125-103 win, with Wembanyama setting the tone from the start and the Blazers never finding a real answer. He finished with a game-high 29 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-6 from deep and 8-for-9 at the line, while also adding seven rebounds and three assists. Six Spurs finished in double figures.
Portland’s top scoring came from Deni Avdija, who posted 15 points, four rebounds and one assist. Scoot Henderson added 13 points, Damian Lillard scored 12, Jrue Holiday had 11, and Yang Hansen supplied a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The first quarter set the tone for a rough night. The Blazers opened 1-for-11 from three and didn’t hit their first long ball until the final seconds, when Avdija buried one off a Lillard assist. Portland shot just 6-for-24 overall in the period, a 25 percent clip, and Wembanyama’s presence clearly bothered the home team.
San Antonio wasn’t exactly scorching early, either, but it did enough to keep control. The Spurs led by as many as 10 in the opening quarter despite shooting 33.3 percent and going 3-for-11 from beyond the arc. Portland did get to the line 10 times in the frame and made seven, which kept the margin from ballooning.
The second quarter brought more of the same, with Portland struggling to generate clean looks against a tight Spurs defense. For nearly three minutes, the Blazers managed only a single field goal. Then the game turned into a parade to the foul line, and the crowd at Moda Center let the officials hear it with chants of, “Ref you suck!”
San Antonio ripped off a 10-0 run more than halfway through the quarter, and every point came at the stripe. Portland was whistled for five fouls in a 44-second stretch, and the Spurs shot 19 free throws in the period, missing just one. By halftime, Portland trailed by 15 after being outscored 42-29 in the quarter.
The third quarter put the game out of reach. San Antonio poured in 45 points, shooting 18-for-27 from the field and 5-for-11 from three. The Spurs also grabbed four offensive rebounds and turned them into nine second-chance points, building a lead as large as 35.
Portland’s offense wasn’t completely broken in the third - the Blazers shot 10-for-20 overall and 4-for-10 from deep - but the lack of extra possessions hurt badly. They had zero offensive rebounds and forced only two Spurs turnovers, leaving too many empty trips.
By the fourth quarter, the game had long since slipped into garbage time, and Portland won the final period only after the outcome was already decided.
In Other News...
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Scoot Henderson sits at the center of some of the bigger questions now, because his play has not matched the expectations that followed him into this season. Portland has shown signs of improvement in a few areas, but the recurring issues around ball security and defensive rebounding, along with Hendersons uneven production, are making the rotation picture feel less settled than the Blazers would like. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Loss To Lakers Exposed What Theyre Missing Without Ja Morant
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Blazers Suddenly Face A Bigger Scoot Henderson Decision Than Expected
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For Portland, the decision is less about talent in a vacuum than about timing, fit and the realities of restricted free agency down the road. Any move involving Henderson would carry real strategic weight, especially with Atlanta emerging as a possible trade partner, but for now it remains a matter of possibility rather than something that has actually been put in motion. [Read more 🡒]