Victor Wembanyama made a remarkable comeback from a concussion, scoring 27 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and blocking seven shots as the San Antonio Spurs dominated the Portland Trail Blazers 114-93, taking a 3-1 lead in their series. De'Aaron Fox contributed 28 points to the Spurs' winning effort, which will see them return home for Game Five on Tuesday.
Wembanyama's return was announced just before the game, following his clearance from the league's concussion protocol. Although he expressed disappointment with the handling of his return and the protocol, he praised the Spurs' medical staff.
The Spurs initially trailed by 17 points at halftime but staged a remarkable comeback, with the game tied at 74 going into the fourth quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers by Fox and Keldon Johnson gave the Spurs a 90-77 lead with 7:14 remaining. Johnson's dunk with 4:31 left sealed the win for San Antonio.
Wembanyama reflected on the team's second-half resurgence, saying, 'We need to find the answers before having our back against the wall.' He also highlighted the team's strength in adversity, saying, 'We stick together. We get closer to each other, we feed off of each other's energy.' Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points, and a tense moment arose when Avdija and Stephon Castle exchanged shoves, resulting in offsetting technical fouls. Avdija stated, 'You can be tough, you can be physical, but there's a level of disrespect that I'm not gonna accept.' Wembanyama had sustained a concussion in the first half of the Spurs' 106-103 loss on Tuesday and was unavailable for Game Three, but the Spurs rallied to win 120-108 and take the series lead.