SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol after in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s playoff loss to Portland.
鈥淗e has a concussion. He鈥檚 in the protocol,鈥� Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after to even the Western Conference first-round series at one game apiece. 鈥淲e鈥檒l take the proper and appropriate steps.鈥�
Any extended absence by Wembanyama would be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league鈥檚 second-best record behind from France.
Under league guidelines, a player in the concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then hit several benchmarks without symptoms before being cleared to play. A player must undergo neurological testing and receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league’s concussion protocol director.
Game 3 is Friday in Portland. It seems improbable that Wembanyama would be cleared by then, but Johnson wouldn’t speculate about his status.
鈥淭he protocol is the protocol,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly.鈥�
The Spurs went 12-6 during the regular season without Wembanyama.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all got to step up,鈥� Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. 鈥淲e know what Vic brings to the table. We鈥檝e played without him for a couple games this year. It鈥檚 going to be next man up. Everybody鈥檚 going to have to step up. That鈥檚 a huge void to fill. We can鈥檛 get bogged down by it.鈥�
Wembanyama was fouled by Jrue Holiday after he spun around the Trail Blazers point guard in the paint. He was not able to brace himself on the fall, and his jaw hit the court with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter.
Wembanyama remained on the court for about 30 seconds before rising to a seated position for about a minute and speaking to teammate Stephon Castle. Johnson called timeout to check on Wembanyama, who immediately ran through the tunnel after getting to his feet.
Wembanyama had five points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist in 12 minutes. Veteran Luke Kornet replaced Wembanyama and started the second half at center, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes.
鈥淚t was scary. I saw the images. It was not good,鈥� Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter said of the play where Wembanyama got hurt. 鈥淲ith him out, Kornet, I think he did a tremendous job. We still have to figure out how to play better when Kornet is on the court.鈥�
San Antonio is in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and of the Western Conference first-round series behind 35 points from Wembanyama. Without him, the Spurs blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in the playoffs for the first time since 2003, a span of 76 games.
On Monday, Wembanyama became the unanimous winner of the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks this season.
Vassell said he didn鈥檛 have a chance to talk with Wembanyama immediately after the game.
鈥淲e鈥檒l definitely check in on him. Our prayers are with him,鈥� Vassell said. 鈥淲e just want him to be good.鈥�
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