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.<\/p>\n
PORTLAND, Ore. \u2014 The Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> know what went wrong in their 111-98 loss<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter said his team must take advantage of those stretches.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Wembanyama was dominant in his playoff debut, finishing with 35 points. Portland held its own while he played \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Those were the minutes Portland needed to win \u2014 and didn’t.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n