Victor Wembanyama Makes History As Spurs Silence Trail Blazers At Home

The San Antonio Spurs have yet to lose a game sporting a full roster as they cruised to a home victory Saturday evening against the Portland Trail Blazers behind a historic outing from Victor Wembanyama.

Dec 21, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks and is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO — Add Chauncey Billups to the long list of Victor Wembanyama supporters.

Facing him for the third time this season, the Portland Trail Blazers' coach addressed the elephant in the room prior to taking on the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center: He'd yet to beat the 20-year-old, and had watched him block a total of 14 shots over four matchups spanning two seasons.

Those numbers prompted some warranted praise.

"He's already one of the best players in our game," Billups said. "He’s an unselfish player ... he can hurt you in a variety of ways. It’s a very tough matchup.”

READ MORE: Wembanyama's Confidence Not Something Spurs 'Taking for Granted'

Saturday evening, Portland watched as Wembanyamam had his way once again. The Spurs cruised to a 114-94 victory as the second-year power forward logged 30 points and 10 blocks in just half an hour to improve his record against Billups' squad to 5-0.

Behind him, Charles Bassey had another strong outing with Zach Collins riding the bench at Mitch Johnson's discretion, notching a 16-point double-double in the second unit.

Meanwhile, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan combined for 32 points of their own to propel the Spurs to their second straight win.

Dec 21, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Charles Bassey (28) shoots the ball against Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) and center Deandre Ayton (2) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

For Portland, Jerami Grant struggled mightily after an impressive outing against San Antonio at home, but Shaedon Sharpe led the way with 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Anfernee Simons followed him with 18.

Despite their efforts, the Spurs seemed to be on track for a blowout win at halftime. Wembanyama recorded six of his 10 blocks halfway through the game and went to the locker room with his team up 16 points.

When he came back out, he made history. A lot of it.

The Spurs' second-year star became the first player in NBA history to record 10 blocks and four 3-pointers in a single game, the first Spur since David Robinson to score 80 points and block 20 shots in a three-game span and the only player to block 10 or more shots in a game twice before turning 21.

Not enough? Wembanyama is also just the sixth player in league history to record 30-plus points and 10-plus blocks and has as many five-plus-block halves as the rest of the NBA combined.

He also made 10 free throws, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists without committing a personal foul.

"I think he did a good job of facing up," Johnson said of Wembanyama's aggressiveness, "and seeing when he has that one-on-one space to continue to push through that initial contact."

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With the win, the Spurs improve to 15-13 on the season — good enough for the No. 10 seed in the west — and have yet to lose with a full roster. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers fall to 9-19 on the season and suffer their seventh loss in eight games.

Next up for San Antonio is a road trip to Philadelphia to face the ailing 76ers two days before Christmas.

Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center is set for 6 p.m. CST Monday evening.

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