04/20/26 01:37:00
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04/20 01:35 CDT Wembanyama revels in safety of Hall of Famers, fans in playoff
debut as Spurs top Blazers
Wembanyama revels in safety of Hall of Famers, fans in playoff debut as Spurs
top Blazers
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO (AP) --- It has proven almost as difficult to rattle Victor
Wembanyama as it is to get a shot off against San Antonio's 7-foot-4 star.
Still, if there was ever a time to experience some nerves it was Sunday.
Wembanyama was making his playoff debut against Portland for a franchise and
city that is longing for postseason success after six seasons of futility.
Spurs Hall of Famers Gregg Popovich, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili
and George Gervin were in attendance amongst a sell-out crowd at the Frost Bank
Center adorned in a sea of bright T-shirts in the team's Fiesta colors.
Was the pressure of having the hopes of a city and so many Hall of Famers on
his shoulders too weighty for the 22-year-old Wembanyama?
"I wouldn't say weight. I would say it feels safe," Wembanyama said. "It feels
like if you trip, there's a lot of hands that's ready to catch you."
And that's how the Spurs feel with Wembanyama patrolling the court.
Wembanyama scored 35 points in a 111-98 victory over the Trail Blazers, setting
a Spurs franchise record for the most in a playoff debut, surpassing Duncan's
32 in 1998. Wembanyama's 21 first-half points set an NBA record for the most in
the opening half of an NBA playoff debut since the league's play-by-play era
began in 1997.
"I thought he was ready," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "He probably
settled in a little bit later when he made some shots and his talent popped,
but I thought he really settled in there at a point when our defense kicked
into another gear."
The Spurs played a video prior to the game that included Kendrick Lamar's "tv
off," with the lyrics "It's not enough" imposed on Wembanyama's highlights. It
was appropriate for Wembanyama and the Spurs.
San Antonio had not participated in the playoffs since 2019, a six-season
postseason drought that came immediately after San Antonio won five NBA
championships while appearing in a league-tying 22 straight postseasons.
Wembanyama made it a successful return, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers and
finishing 13 for 21 from the field.
"We put different guys on him," Portland coach Tiago Splitter said. "He had an
amazing game, of course. 35 points, 5 for 6 from 3s. It's really hard to take
him out of the paint. I think we did a good for the most part taking him out of
the paint. Of course he rolled a couple of times with a small on him and that's
a bucket. But those five 3s really hurt us."
Wembanyama had a series of highlights, which is nothing unusual during his
three seasons. The highlights have become so routine that Wembanyama can't
recall at times when asked about a particular one.
"I don't remember," Wembanyama said. "Was it a two or a three?"
A rundown of how he dribbled behind his back to avoid Avdija at halfcourt, spun
around him to run free to the rim for a two-handed dunk midway through the
first quarter didn't jog his memory.
"Yeah. I have to look again," Wembanyama said.
As likely will millions of fans, who had 2.43 billion views of Wembanyama on
NBA social media this season, second only to Lakers star LeBron James' 2.85
billion views.
Wembanyama may take a look back just to further take in the atmosphere and
excitement of Sunday's victory.
"It's great to see this many people wear their shirts," Wembanyama said. "I
love the animation (on the video boards) when they say, ?Wear your shirt.'
Yeah, you should absolutely wear your shirt if you're coming to the game. But
now at first, I mean, the first time I stepped on the court for warmups, I felt
the atmosphere was different. Everybody's ready. I mean, the fans were ready.
It's probably the most excited I've seen this year in this arena."
While the crowd left with free T-shirts, the Spurs received more extravagant
clothing from Kelly Olynyk, who celebrated his 35th birthday Sunday by handing
out gifts.
Wembanyama and the entire Spurs' roster came to the game in matching,
custom-made black suits, purchased by Olynyk.
"That's Kelly," Wembanyama said. "Happy birthday, by the way. He took the
initiative to make us all wear the same thing. That's good. It's a good team
thing."
So is Wembanyama.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
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