The whole lot in regards to the evening felt prefer it was establishing for an additional San Antonio assertion. The group was buzzing. The collection leaned their method. And early on, even adversity didn’t appear to be it will matter.
Then every part unraveled.
The San Antonio Spurs watched a 14-point fourth quarter lead disappear Tuesday evening, falling 106-103 to the Portland Path Blazers in Recreation 2 and night their better of seven collection at 1-1. What ought to have been a commanding 2-0 collection benefit as a substitute became a painful lesson in how shortly playoff momentum can swing.
The primary turning level got here lengthy earlier than the ultimate minutes. Halfway by way of the second quarter, Victor Wembanyama crashed to the ground on a drive and struck his chin on the hardwood, leaving the sport and later coming into concussion protocol. He completed with simply 5 factors in 12 minutes and his absence reshaped every part San Antonio needed to do on each ends.
“I simply know he has a concussion, and he’s within the protocol, and we’ll clearly take the right and applicable steps,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson mentioned after the sport.
Nonetheless, the Spurs didn’t fold. They absorbed the blow, fought again from an early deficit, and slowly took management. Regardless of lacking their franchise centerpiece, San Antonio leaned on its depth and defensive effort to claw its method again. A balanced scoring effort: led by De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Citadel, and Devin Vassell; helped stabilize the offense, even when effectivity wasn’t at all times there.
By the fourth quarter, it appeared like resilience would outline the evening. The Spurs opened the interval with a 13-0 surge, constructing a double-digit lead that stretched to 14 factors with beneath 9 minutes to play. At that second, the sport, and maybe the collection, felt firmly of their management.
Then got here the unraveling.
Portland caught hearth from past the arc, hitting well timed threes and chipping away on the deficit possession by possession. San Antonio, in the meantime, stalled. The ball stopped transferring. Photographs stopped falling. And within the sport’s most crucial stretch, the Spurs failed to attain a subject aim over the ultimate three minutes.
“I assumed we weren’t as poised as we had been in Recreation 1,” Johnson mentioned. “We weren’t as sharp to begin the sport tonight. We weren’t on the identical web page or organized. We’ll be higher in Recreation 3.”
A late Portland run, fueled by Scoot Henderson’s 31-point explosion and clutch execution down the stretch, flipped the sport fully. By the point San Antonio tried to reply, it was too late.
The loss wasn’t nearly one run — it was about missed alternatives. Free throws left factors on the board. Defensive lapses opened the door. And with out Wembanyama anchoring the paint, the margin for error vanished. Even robust contributions elsewhere, together with a gradual effort from Luke Kornet off the bench, couldn’t offset the late-game breakdown.
“Must be extra bodily with him. No catch-and-shoots. No straightforward, off-the-dribble pull-ups,” Spurs ahead Devin Vassell mentioned of Henderson. “We’re going to make it so much more durable for him, as a result of clearly, he’s feeling method too comfy.”
And past the scoreboard, the larger concern lingers. Wembanyama’s standing transferring ahead now looms over the collection, with concussion protocol introducing uncertainty on the worst potential time.
As a substitute of heading to Portland with full management, the Spurs now discover themselves in a combat. Recreation 2 was there for the taking, even with out their star. However within the playoffs, letting one slip can change every part.
Now, the query isn’t simply how San Antonio responds. It’s whether or not they can regroup, and recuperate, earlier than the collection slips with it.
