The San Antonio Spurs lost star Victor Wembanyama early Tuesday night after he took a hard, awkward fall and smacked his face directly onto the floor in Game 2 of their 106-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Wembanyama was quickly placed into concussion protocol and ruled out for the rest of the game. He was diagnosed with a concussion, head coach Mitch Johnson confirmed after the contest, and he is set to undergo further testing on Wednesday.
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Further specifics, including how long he might be sidelined, are not yet known. League rules stipulate that a player can not return for at least 48 hours after being diagnosed with a concussion. He will have to complete the required return-to-participation process and be cleared by a team doctor, too. Players can participate in some degree of activity after 24 hours.
Though concussions are difficult to compare, the average of time of recovery for NBA players in recent years has landed around seven-to-10 days. That timeline undoubtedly puts at least the next few games in doubt for Wembanyama.
“He has a concussion, he’s in the protocol and we’ll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps,” Johnson told reporters after the game.
Johnson also said Wembanyama did not go to the hospital and the Spurs were not concerned about any additional injury beyond the concussion.
The Spurs quickly ruled out Victor Wembanyama for the rest of the game after placing him in concussion protocol. (AP/Eric Gay)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)Wembanyama goes down early with concussion
Wembanyama lost his balance in the lane as he tried to make a move past Jrue Holiday midway through the second quarter Tuesday. But as he turned around to try to get to the rim, Wembanyama collided with Holiday and lost his balance.
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That sent him crashing face-first to the floor at the Frost Bank Center. Wembanyama’s chin collided with the court, and he remained down, clearly shaken up for quite some time under the rim.
After getting to a seated position, Wembanyama eventually jumped up and ran back to the locker room with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter.
Wembanyama had five points and four rebounds at the time. The MVP candidate was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year via a unanimous vote on Monday and received his trophy ahead of Tuesday’s contest in San Antonio.
The Spurs rolled to a 1-0 lead in the series on Sunday as Wembanyama dropped 35 points in his postseason debut.
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Trail Blazers rally without Wembanyama available
While the two teams entered the locker room tied at halftime, the Spurs erupted to start the fourth quarter. They opened the final period on a 13-0 tear to finally get some separation.
But things flipped in the second half of the quarter, and the Spurs completely collapsed.
The Trail Blazers, without Wembanyama clogging things up for them inside, finally rallied back and took the lead again after Holiday cleaned up a missed Robert Williams bucket with about two minutes left on the clock. That capped a 12-2 Portland run.
Eventually, it was Williams who sealed the deal with an and-1 dunk right through Julian Champagnie with just 12 seconds left. While he missed the free throw, it gave the Blazers enough space out in front and allowed them to hang on to grab the three-point win.
Devin Vassell had a look to send the game to overtime in the final seconds, but he was just off the mark. The Trail Blazers closed the game on a 27-10 run to grab the win.
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Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Vassell added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 31 points after he went 5-of-9 from the 3-point line, and Holiday finished with 16 points and nine assists.
Game 3 of the series is set for Friday night at the Moda Center in Portland. It’s unclear how long Wembanyama will be in concussion protocol, though Friday’s game is technically outside of the league-required 48-hour window.
If Wembanyama ends up missing any extended time, the series could shift dramatically. With things tied now 1-1 and headed to the Pacific Northwest for the first time, it clearly already has.