Victor Wembaneyama sets a new San Antonio record for most points in an NBA playoff debut as the Spurs beat Portland.
Published April 20, 2026
The host San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-98 in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series on Sunday, as Victor Wembaneyama scored 35 points in his postseason debut as they pulled away on a fourth-quarter run.
The Spurs took a 1-0 lead in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series in the Alamo City on Tuesday, followed by Games 3 and 4 in Portland.
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Wembaneyama broke Tim Duncan’s franchise record for most points (32 points in 1998) in his playoff debut. He led all scorers in a first half with 21 points, a league record for most in a first half of an NBA playoff debut dating back to 1997, at the beginning of the play-by-play era.
“It’s good to get this out of the way,” Wenbanyama said. “We just tried to do what we’ve done all year and stay solid. There was some pressure to win the first game, but it wasn’t that much pressure if we just stuck to the plan.”
San Antonio, the second seed in the West, led by 10 points at halftime and 15 points at the end of the third quarter, but scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to secure a 93-72 victory.
The seventh-seeded Trail Blazers went on a 13-3 run on Deni Avdija’s dunk with 4:27 left to pull within 11 points, but San Antonio hung on until the end.
“What we learned is every possession matters,” Scoot Henderson said. “Next game, I think everyone’s going to be more aggressive defensively. I feel like we can be more aggressive. Defensively, I think we can do more.”
Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox each added 17 points for the Spurs, Devin Vassell had 15 points and Luke Cornette had 10 points.
Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Henderson had 18 points, Robert Williams III had 11 points, Shaydon Sharpe had 10 points and Jrue Holiday had 11 assists and nine points.
The Spurs jumped out to an early lead, building a nine-point lead at the 2:35 mark of the first quarter on Fox’s step-back 3-pointer and jumping out to a 30-21 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
With 5:24 left in the second quarter, Cornett made an alley-oop dunk from Castle, increasing San Antonio’s lead to 50-34. After Avdija’s 3-point play with 2:28 left cut the deficit to seven points, Wenbanyama drained a layup and made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to 12 points. The Spurs led 59-49 at halftime.
“(Wenbanyama) has high expectations and goals for himself and getting to the playoffs is just a lot of that,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “So it’s good to get the first one and get that experience.”
Avdija paced the Trail Blazers with 19 points in the first two periods.
The Trail Blazers scored the first eight points of the third quarter and had four chances to tie or take the lead, but committed three turnovers and missed shots in that stretch.
“I can’t say,” Portland coach Thiago Splitter said when asked if a lack of playoff experience was a factor in the loss. “This is our first time playing Wenby this season, so we have a lot to learn. It wasn’t our best night. It’s really hard to get him out of the paint. Those five threes really hurt.”
San Antonio regained its momentum, building a game-high 17-point lead on Julien Champagnie’s 3-pointer with 53 seconds left, and entering the game’s final 12 minutes with an 87-72 lead.
“In the first timeout of the first quarter, I think it took a minute for everyone to calm down,” Vassell said. “Even in the second half, it took (Portland) a minute to concede. Basketball is a run game, so I knew if we hung in there, got some stops and started showing some good looks, we’d be fine.”
