PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) 鈥� Victor Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in his return from a concussion and the San Antonio Spurs took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 114-93 victory on Sunday.
De’Aaron Fox added 28 points for the Spurs, who will return home for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Spurs announced about an hour before the game that Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 Defensive Player of the Year, would play .
After the game, he to play was handled was 鈥渧ery disappointing鈥� but emphasized that he was treated well by the Spurs鈥� medical staff. He would not elaborate, saying he did not want to be a distraction.
The Spurs trailed the Blazers by 17 points at the half, but the game was knotted at 74 going into the fourth quarter. Fox and Keldon Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Spurs up 90-77 with 7:14 left.
Johnson’s dunk with 4:31 remaining made it 101-81 for San Antonio and all but sealed the win.
鈥淲e need to find the answers before having our back against the wall,鈥� Wembanyama said about the second-half comeback. 鈥淏ut that also shows the strength of our team in adversity. We stick together. We get closer to each other, we feed off of each other’s energy.鈥�
Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points. There was tense moment with 2:13 left when Avdija and Stephon Castle exchanged shoves. They were given offsetting technical fouls.
鈥淵ou can be tough, you can be, you know, physical, but there鈥檚 a level of disrespect that I鈥檓 not gonna accept,鈥� Avdija said about the dustup.
Wembanyama sustained a concussion in the first half of on Tuesday and was unavailable Friday night for Game 3. But the Spurs rallied in the third quarter and to take the series lead.
Wembanyama, who was listed as questionable going into Sunday’s game, started and drew gasps from the crowd at the Moda Center with an emphatic dunk with 9:58 to go in the first half.
Portland went ahead 45-28 in the first half on an 18-3 run. Robert Williams III dunked before a pair of quick 3-pointers from Jerami Grant and Scoot Henderson. Avdija capped the run with a fadeaway jumper.
The Blazers led by as many as 19 in the half and were ahead 58-41 at the break.
Stephon Castle, who had 33 points in San Antonio鈥檚 Game 3 win, appeared to injure his left hand in the first half but returned.
The Spurs went on a 13-0 run to open the second half and closed the gap to 58-54 as the Blazers went cold. Devin Vassell’s jumper with 4:38 tied it at 62 for the Spurs. He hit another to put San Antonio in front.
鈥淚 think there’s no useless drama in between us,鈥� Wembanyama said. 鈥淲e thrive when we do the invisible efforts that benefit others. There鈥檚 no jealousy. There鈥檚 nobody who cares about their stat line. So it鈥檚 our greatest strength.鈥�
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