Back after a concussion suffered on Tuesday, Victor Wembanyama contributed greatly to San Antonio’s 114-93 success in Portland on Sunday, which allowed the Spurs to lead 3-1 in this first round series of the NBA play-offs.
San Antonio will have the opportunity to qualify for the Western Conference semi-finals on Tuesday in Texas.
Quickly released during Game 2 due to a violent head impact against the floor, which put him in the concussion protocol, Wembanyama missed Game 3 on Friday before a notable comeback on Sunday with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 7 blocks!
“It was special, I had a lot of emotions inside me, desire, frustration,” he declared on ESPN.
“Wemby” spoke about the concussion protocol: “the Spurs did a great job, but I am not happy with the way the protocol was managed by other stakeholders”, then saying he was “very disappointed” with the management of the protocol by the NBA.
“I was healthy the day after the injury. It was weird,” he added.
NBA protocol requires a 48-hour rest before a gradual resumption of activity, daily tests, then a medical green light shared by the franchise and the NBA.
A little clumsy at the start of the game, like his team, the 22-year-old Frenchman ended up regaining his usual domination on both sides of the floor on Sunday.
Trailing 58-41 at the break, the Spurs offered a superb second part of the match (73-35) in order to come back at the end of the 3rd quarter, then take off.
“Wemby” notably scored three dunks to start the 4th quarter, each time served by his ally Stephon Castle (16 points, 8 assists), elected rookie of the year a year ago.
Leader De’Aaron Fox finally returned to his play-offs (28 points, 7 assists) for the benefit of the Spurs, who offered intense defensive sequences to limit Deni Avdija (26 points, 7 rebounds), expelled for a 6th foul and overwhelmed at the end of the game.
The Celtics are almost there
Earlier in the day, the Toronto Raptors dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 to tie the game at 2-2.
The bitter match was marked by the great clumsiness of the two teams, never separated by more than 9 points.
The “Cavs” of James Harden (20 points) were 8 points ahead at the heart of the 4th quarter but missed their end of the match against Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, 23 points each.
The Raptors overcame a hopeless address from afar (4 out of 30 at 13%) in order to tie before Game 5, Wednesday in Ohio.
The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-96, winning a second straight road game to lead 3-1, heading into Game 5 on Tuesday at TD Garden.
Backup Payton Pritchard was evil with 32 points (6 of 12 from distance), with Jayson Tatum adding 30 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists.
The 76ers were dominated despite the return of their pivot Joel Embiid (26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists), operated on for appendicitis on April 9.
At the end of the evening, the Los Angeles Lakers fell heavily to the Houston Rockets 115-96.
LeBron James’ Lakers (10 points, 9 assists), who now only lead 3-1, quickly gave up and will try to qualify on Wednesday at home, where they hope to be able to count on Austin Reaves.
Amen Thompson’s Rockets (23 points) have again evolved without Kevin Durant.
