Deni Avdija leads the Portland Trail Blazers into a Game 2 matchup against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. Here’s how to watch.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers know what went wrong in their 111-98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series: they failed to capitalize when Victor Wembanyama was off the floor.

Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter said his team must take advantage of those stretches.

“I thought we couldn’t make money out of those minutes,” Splitter said. “I think (Spurs backup center Luke) Kornet did a good job defending and grabbing offensive rebounds. I think we’ve got to be better in those minutes for sure.”

Wembanyama was dominant in his playoff debut, finishing with 35 points. Portland held its own while he played — the Spurs outscored the Blazers by just four points in his 33 minutes. But with Wembanyama on the bench, San Antonio gained separation. The Spurs were plus-9 in the 14 minutes Kornet anchored the middle, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds.

Those were the minutes Portland needed to win — and didn’t.

Another area for improvement is offensive production beyond Deni Avdija, who had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in his playoff debut. Scoot Henderson added 18 points, and Robert Williams III contributed 11 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench. Beyond that, Portland struggled to generate consistent offense.

Jrue Holiday had nine points and 11 assists but shot 4 for 15 from the field, including 1 for 7 from 3-point range. Jerami Grant scored five points on 2-for-6 shooting. Shaedon Sharpe finished with 10 points but went 4 for 13 and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan and Matisse Thybulle combined for 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

“We’ve definitely got to play better — not just the vets or the young guys,” Splitter said. “In general, we got to play better. We’ve got to shoot the ball better. We’ve got to be more consistent. At times, we were trying to figure it out instead of being aggressive and playing the way we play. Hopefully in the second game we’re more decisive and play better.”

The Blazers struggled from beyond the arc. Avdija and Henderson combined to make 4 of 9 3-point attempts; the rest of the team went 6 for 29. Portland shot 26.3% from 3-point range, well below its season average of 34.3%.

San Antonio, meanwhile, shot 45.5% from deep, exceeding its 35.9% season mark.

Splitter also cited transition defense and physical play as areas that must improve. The Spurs held a 20-11 edge in fast-break points.

“They were pushing us around,” Splitter said. “That cannot happen. We’ve got to match that — or be even more physical.”


How to watch

When: Tuesday, 5 p.m. PTChannel: NBC (KGW Channel 8 in Portland)Streaming: PeacockSeries: Spurs lead best-of-7 series 1-0Betting line: Spurs by 11 1/2. Over/under is 220.5Injury report: Blazers OUT: Damian Lillard (left achilles tendon). Spurs OUT: Jordan McLaughlin (left ankle sprain)

The Associated Press contributed to this report.