Inside The Spurs

Victor Wembanyama Throws Block Party in Portland, Leads Spurs to 5th Win of Season vs. Trail Blazers

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama further separated himself from an optimistic Scoot Henderson in the Rookie of the Year race Thursday night, posting seven blocks and 30 points en route to a road victory to kick off a back-to-back series.

Matt Guzman

In this story:

Hitting the road for back-to-back matchups after their losing streak eclipsed five for the second time this season, the San Antonio Spurs knew they were in for a tough test.

The hosting Portland Trail Blazers weren't in a much better position than the Spurs, but that didn't matter. Every game San Antonio played had its own set of challenges and was a must-win game. On the road in Portland was no exception. 

Right from the jump, the Spurs made clear that they had come to play, and throughout the game, it remained that way. San Antonio rallied behind its starters en route to a strong finish to secure its fifth win of the season by knocking off the Trail Blazers 118-105. 

Victor Wembanyama led the way for the Spurs, recording another seven blocks to pair with his six rebounds and 30 points — marking the third time this season he's hit a points mark that high. He shot efficiently from the floor and from behind the arc as San Antonio's leading scorer, and was backed by Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell, who combined for 33 points on the night. 

For the Trail Blazers, Malcolm Brogdon and Jerami Grant did the heavy lifting, shooting near 50 percent to combine for 58 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. They were backed by No. 2 pick Scoot Henderson, who scored 25 points of his own, but despite their best efforts, it wasn't enough to out-perform the visiting Spurs.

Dec 28, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks a shot during the first half against Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) at Moda Center / © Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Right away, the Spurs started hot. Wembanyama and Sochan made sure of that, helping San Antonio out to an 11-4 lead with just three minutes of playing time in the books. From there, it just continued to lay it on, getting out to a 24-4 lead before the Trail Blazers mustered up another bucket to cut the lead to 18. 

Before long, San Antonio was up 31-8 as the first quarter waned, and showed no signs of slowing down as it took a 24-point lead to the second quarter.

Portland didn't cross the 20-point mark — partly because of its collective abysmal 33-percent shooting clip from the field — until nine minutes remained in the half. While that was a promising sign for Portland, however, there was a catch. 

At that point, the Spurs were nearing 50. 

A Grant-Brogdon-led run in the back minutes of the second quarter allowed Portland to regain some momentum and end the scoring drought it found itself in, as the lead was cut down to just 12 on a Grant jump shot. At halftime, however, that cushion was back to 14 as the Spurs took a 59-45 lead to the locker room.

Malaki Branham got things going for San Antonio right after the break as the Spurs re-built its lead to 16 points. Both teams began going back-and-forth from there, with Portland staying firmly behind the Spurs up until the third-quarter buzzer.

And in the fourth, Wembanyama delivered an early exclamation point.

With 9:45 remaining in the final quarter, Tre Jones found a streaking Wembanyama in the paint and threw up a lob from behind the three-point line to make the highlight reel and extend the Spurs' lead to 20 points. 

From there, the damage had been done. Portland looked to make a run in the waning minutes of the fourth, but nothing was enough to bring it past San Antonio as it ultimately fell 118-105 at home in Game 1 of a two-game back-to-back.

With the win, the Spurs improve to 5-25 on the season and Wembanyama takes Round 1 in the regular season against Henderson to further separate himself in the Rookie of the Year race.

Scoot Eyes Rookie of the Year Award vs. Wemby: 'Still Up in The Air'

Next up for San Antonio is a second straight matchup against Portland in Portland as the Spurs look to win two in a row for the second time this season. 

Tipoff from Moda Center is set for 9 p.m. CST.

Published
Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

Home/News