{"id":714409,"date":"2026-04-20T04:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714409\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T04:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:50:19","slug":"a-tremendous-game-wemby-shines-in-playoff-debut-spurs-beat-blazers-in-game-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714409\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A Tremendous Game’ | Wemby Shines in Playoff Debut, Spurs Beat Blazers in Game 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama<\/a> owned his first ever playoff game, scoring 35 points to lead the Spurs to a decisive victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the city’s first postseason game in seven years.<\/p>\n

With Tim Duncan in attendance, Wemby broke the Big Fundamental’s Spurs record of 32 points in a playoff debut. De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle<\/a> combined for 34 points and 15 assists, and Devin Vassell<\/a> fueled a game-changing run in the third quarter as San Antonio ran away from the Trail Blazers and won 111-98.<\/p>\n

The raucous San Antonio crowd went nuts when the jumbotron showed David Robinson and Tim Duncan wearing their free fiesta-colored t-shirts, and Wembanyama remarked afterward that it was the loudest the arena got outside of the game action. Asked if he feels the weight of having legends like that around and invested in this team’s success, Wembanyama gave a wonderful answer.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t say weight, no. I would say, I feel safe,” Wembanyama said. “Feels like if you trip, you know there’s a lot of hands that are ready to catch you.”<\/p>\n

“Vic is Vic, and he had a tremendous game,” Vassell said. “And each game is going to be different, you know? It could be (Julian Champagnie’s) night, it could be Steph’s night, it could be Fox’s night, everybody’s got to be ready to go.”<\/p>\n

San Antonio led for 93% of the game and bested Portland in virtually every facet of the game. They won the boards and the paint, and they shot a blistering 45% from 3 while the Blazers managed just 26%. The most ridiculous 3 of the entire game came when Wembanyama took off on a dead sprint and dribbled into the corner for a fadeaway.<\/p>\n

You ever seen a 7-foot-4 guy sprint into a fading pull-up 3 from the corner? pic.twitter.com\/qlWbKqinY0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In the first half Wembanyama had 21 points on 13 shots, hitting his first three attempts from long range, and the Spurs went into the break up 10. Portland, though, opened the second half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to just two and force Mitch Johnson to call timeout. On the ensuing play, Fox lobbed it up to Castle for a jam.<\/p>\n

Devin Vassell strung together some big plays, blocking a shot and then drilling a few triples to put the Spurs back up double digits. <\/p>\n

“(Vassell) had some winning plays like that,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. “Luke Kornet had some monster plays like that. Julian Champagnie, I mean, that’s what it’s going to take in these games, a lot more than the shot making, especially when teams are making runs.”<\/p>\n

Vassell’s fourth swish of the game forced a timeout from Portland and gave him some extra time to feel the moment and celebrate with Keldon Johnson as the pair made their long-awaited playoff debut together.<\/p>\n

“That’s my brother, man, and we’ve dreamed of times like this,” Vassell said after the game. “Been through a lot, you know, past couple years, and for us to be in this and to be engulfed into it, it’s amazing. I would not rather celebrate this with anybody else.”<\/p>\n

Devin Vassell absolutely massive in his playoff debut pic.twitter.com\/oxVJAVizki<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Luke Kornet had a huge impact and helped the Spurs not just survive the non-Wemby minutes, but thrive in them. Kornet slammed home three lobs and a putback, finishing the game with 10 points and 6 rebounds as San Antonio won his 14 minutes by nine points.<\/p>\n

KORN ON THE LOB \ud83c\udf3d pic.twitter.com\/HBS6ZZITF0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

San Antonio built their lead out to 21, but Portland hung around with a little help from some officiating that Mitch Johnson disagreed with vociferously, earning a technical foul in his own playoff debut as a head coach.<\/p>\n

Mitch Johnson gets a T<\/p>\n

Crowd lets the ref hear it <\/p>\n

Deni bricks the free throw pic.twitter.com\/ZPUfI2pExx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Deni Avdija scored 30 points, but San Antonio limited him to just six free throws and made him work for everything on the court.<\/p>\n

“Sending multiple bodies, different bodies,” Vassell said after the game. “He’s obviously a good player. We got to sit here and try to tire him out. So the more fresh bodies we can get, the more we can pick him up, the more we can just be physical with him, that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”<\/p>\n

The Spurs will review the tape and get ready for Game 2 on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

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