The San Antonio Spurs, a potential NBA title contender, are in trouble after an injury to Victor Wembanyama and a fourth-quarter collapse in a Game 2 loss.
Led by Scoot Henderson, who led all players with 31 points, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Spurs 106-103 to win Game 2, tying their best-of-seven first-round series at 1-1.
San Antonio led by 14 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, thanks to a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter. But without Wembanyama, who suffered a concussion early in the second quarter after hitting his head on the floor, the Spurs allowed the Trail Blazers to end on a 27-10 run and steal a win on the road.
Game 3 is Friday night in Portland, with Wembanyama’s status up in the air for that game and potentially longer.
Here are our key takeaways from Game 2.
What’s next for Wembanyama?
Ultimately, the story of this game is the fact that Wembanyama didn’t finish it and might miss more time. In the second quarter, the Spurs star fell face-first onto the court and smashed his chin into the floor twice. He lay on the ground with his eyes closed momentarily, then spent a long moment on the ground in pain or discomfort before eventually running to the locker room. He was later placed into the concussion protocol and ruled out. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson confirmed the concussion after the game.
Victor Wembanyama (concussion protocol) is OUT for the remainder of the game after hitting his head on the court. pic.twitter.com/qP8tAf6osN
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) April 22, 2026
The diagnosis triggers a 48-hour recovery window before Wembanyama can be cleared to play. The Spurs are fortunate to have two days off before Game 3 in Portland on Friday, so Wembanyama could play in the next game if he clears the protocol.
Though the Spurs lost the game and homecourt advantage, they are still capable even if Wembanyama is forced to miss time. Offseason signing Luke Kornet has been one of the league’s best backup centers this season and has filled in well for Wembanyama when called upon. Later in the season, the Spurs experimented with small lineups that deployed forwards Carter Bryant or Keldon Johnson at backup center when Kornet was off the floor, which is what they went with in the second half Tuesday. — Jared Weiss, Spurs writer
Henderson has arrived
The Trail Blazers selected Henderson with the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, believing he had star potential. Henderson went straight from high school to the G League Ignite and showed enough promise that Wembanyama once said, “If I was never born, I think he would deserve the first spot.”
The start to Henderson’s career didn’t go according to plan. He struggled to score at the rim and was an inconsistent jump shooter in his first two seasons. Henderson missed the first 51 games of this season while recovering from a left hamstring injury.
Though Henderson has underwhelmed at times early in his career, he has shown in Portland’s playoff run that it’s too early to make any sweeping conclusions about his career. His season-high 31 points led the Trail Blazers to a come-from-behind win. He made five 3-pointers, including a pull-up 25-footer with 2:43 remaining that cut the Spurs’ lead to 1.
Together, Henderson and veteran Jrue Holiday combined to score 47 points. Both made clutch shots for Portland, which closed the game on a 16-4 run to even the series as it shifts from Texas to Oregon. — Christian Clark, NBA senior writer
Spurs guards fall flat when needed most
The Spurs spent the season preparing for this moment: life without Wembanyama. They went 12-6 without him this season, relying on the playmaking of their three guards and the shooting of their plethora of wings.
But San Antonio’s offense struggled to break through Portland’s physicality on the perimeter in the second half. The Spurs’ half-court offense fell flat in the fourth quarter, as those ballhandlers struggled to get past the litany of stout Blazers defenders.
De’Aaron Fox, acquired last season to be Wembanyama’s second star, went 1-of-6 in the fourth quarter. He was unable to get past Toumani Camara’s stellar defense as the Spurs failed to score on multiple tries on a lengthy possession with less than two minutes remaining. Then, Holiday beat Devin Vassell on a box out from the corner to get into the perfect position to catch an air-balled 3 from Robert Williams III, scoring an easy bucket to give the Blazers control of the game.
The Spurs will need better isolation scoring from their main guards in the heat of the game if Wembanyama misses time, as the Blazers are proving too tough to yield the drive-and-kick advantages San Antonio had been able to create all season. In the playoffs, midrange isolation scoring and pick-and-roll shooting tend to take on greater importance. Fox, Castle and Dylan Harper showed they can feast from 15 feet in the regular season, but that was missing at the end of Tuesday’s game. — Weiss
Leave a Reply