Victor Wembanyama's breathtaking playoff debut leads Spurs over Blazers: 3 takeaways from Game 1

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Wembanyama broke Tim Duncan’s record from 1998, when Duncan scored 32 points in his Spurs playoff debut. The 22-year-old, a finalist for the NBA’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards, helped San Antonio take a 59-49 lead into halftime, scoring 21 points in the first half on 8-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 4 from behind the arc. Wembanyama’s first-half point total was the most for a player in his first playoff game in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98). Portland opened the second half on a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit to two, but never got closer. Deni Avdija had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Blazers, who advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 by beating the Phoenix Suns in the Play-In Tournament. Game 2 is Tuesday in San Antonio. Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s game: Wembanyama’s playoff debut started out as well as he could have hoped. His 21 points in the first half were the most by an NBA player in the first half of their first playoff games since tracking started in the 1997 postseason, according to the Spurs. On one end, Wembanyama quickly diagnosed the Blazers defense, quickly figuring out how to attack from the high post or from 3. Meanwhile, on the other end, the Blazers had to throw rainbow floaters up whenever they drove at him, missing all six shots over his long arms. The Spurs continued to have him play a zone along the baseline and leave Portland centers Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III wide-open from deep, which worked in the aggregate. Then, Wembanyama had himself a takeover stretch. His 14 points in the fourth quarter put the game away for good, allowing the Spurs to keep a double-digit lead to the finish line. In the end, his basket to pass Duncan came shortly after David Robinson was on the Jumbotron giving Duncan rabbit ears. The old Twin Towers laughing as the crowd erupted  was the perfect moment to capture the beginning of a new Spurs era. Wembanyama sure looks ready to lead them on a run at the title. —Jared Weiss, Spurs staff writer Of the 16 teams that made the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers were the least potent offensive squad of the bunch. In the regular season, the Trail Blazers finished 21st in points scored per 100 possessions. Avdija, a point-forward, is Portland’s primary offensive engine. Apart from him, the Trail Blazers don’t have many reliable options who can get their own shot. In Game 1, the lack of offensive production Portland got outside of Avdija was a main reason why the Trail Blazers couldn’t keep up with the Spurs. The rest of Portland’s starters — Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan — combined to score 39 points, or nine fewer than Avdija. At halftime, the Henderson-Holiday combo only had five points. The Trail Blazers trailed by 10 at the break. Henderson at least perked up a little bit in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 18 points. The Trail Blazers shot 10 of 38 from 3-point land, not exactly a surprise from the NBA’s 28th-most accurate 3-point shooting team during the regular season. That has to turn around for them to have a chance in this series. — Christian Clark, NBA senior writer Anyone who’s watched the Spurs all season knows they are not a one-man team — not even close. You don’t win 62 games as a one-man team, especially when that one man misses 18 games and doesn’t crack 2,000 minutes on the season. Still, for those who may not have been watching San Antonio regularly from October until now, let the record show that the Spurs turned a close game into a double-digit margin when Wembanyama sat on the bench in the middle of the third quarter. Two players were especially important in that pivotal five minutes and 13 seconds. One was Devin Vassell, a holdover from the dying embers of the previous Spurs era. When the 25-year-old wing is hitting 3s and actively involved on both ends, as he was in the third quarter, the Spurs are tough to beat. His numbers may look ordinary (15 points on 5-of-13 shooting) but those two spot-up 3s and beautiful baby-jumper pullup that kissed off the glass got San Antonio out of an offensive rut. The other was Wembanyama’s backup — and one of two players on this roster with legitimate playoff experience. With Wemby on the bench, Luke Kornet came in, played his role on offense and supplied excellent rim protection against a Blazers team that lives in the paint. Wembanyama does things that nobody else can do. But those things feel even more significant when they come on top of the foundation the rest of the Spurs have set. —Mike Prada, NBA staff editor Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms