Victor Wembanyama made an early exit from San Antonio’s 103-106 playoff loss the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday AEST after suffering a head injury during the second quarter.
French superstar Wembanyama was ruled out of the remainder of the game after stumbling and banging his head on the hardwood following a collision with Portland’s Jrue Holiday.
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Wembanyama looked dazed as he lay on the floor before slowly getting to his feet and jogging off court to the locker room.
The Spurs later confirmed Wembanyama had entered the concussion protocol and would play no further part in game two of the Western Conference playoff clash.
He had scored five points, collected four rebounds, provided one assist and made one block in 11 minutes before the incident.
The 22-year-old will now face a race against the clock to be passed fit to play in game three in Portland on Saturday Australian time.
The NBA’s concussion protocols enforce a mandatory 48-hour stand down period.
A player must then prove they are symptom free by undertaking a series of tests, and then be given the all clear by the team doctor as well as the Director of the NBA Concussion Program, Dr. Jeff Kutcher.
The injury occurred just a day after he was named the NBA’s defensive player of the year.
Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs holds his head after falling to the court.Source: AFP
Wembanyama scored 35 points in San Antonio’s game one victory over Portland – beating Tim Duncan’s franchise record for the most points on playoff debut.
The second seed Spurs certainly felt Wembanyama’s absence as Portland overcame a one-point three-quarter time deficit to level up the series at 1-1.
The Spurs had the chance to send the game to overtime in the final five seconds, but stellar defence from Australia’s Matisse Thybulle helped ensure that Devin Vassell’s three-point attempt from the corner missed.
Thybulle played ten minutes off the bench and despite not scoring a point, contributed an assist, a rebound and a block.
Scoot Henderson starred for the Trailblazers with 31 points, while Holiday came up one assist shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine assists as well as five rebounds.
Toumani Camara was only two rebounds short of a double-double, having also scored ten points.
Robert Williams III was also pivotal off the bench with 11 points and nine rebounds.
For the Spurs, Stephon Castle (18 points and eight rebounds), De’Aaron Fox (17 points) and Vassell (16 points and 12 rebounds) tried their best to fill the Wembenyama-sized hole in the second half.