Home BASKETBALL NBA NBA Night: Spurs Collapse After Wemby Concussion, Lakers & Sixers Take Game 2s

NBA Night: Spurs Collapse After Wemby Concussion, Lakers & Sixers Take Game 2s

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Wemby injury swings Spurs-Blazers

Victor Wembanyama enters concussion protocol after hard fall as Blazers stun Spurs with 27-10 fourth-quarter run. Scoot Henderson drops 31 to even series 1-1.


Playoff chaos; Wembanyama exits, LeBron lifts Lakers, Sixers stun Celtics...


The Portland Trail Blazers capitalized on a Victor Wembanyama injury to pull off a 106-103 upset over the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in their NBA Western Conference playoff series on Tuesday.


San Antonio star Wembanyama, who scored 35 points in the Spurs’ Game 1 win on Sunday, left in the second quarter at the Frost Bank Center in Texas. He hit his head on the court after a collision with Portland’s Jrue Holiday.


The 22-year-old looked dazed as he lay on the floor for several minutes before getting up and jogging to the locker room.


The 7ft 4in (2.24m) forward was then ruled out for the rest of the game after entering concussion protocol.


San Antonio seemed to have overcome Wembanyama’s injury when they opened a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, up 93-79 with just over eight minutes left.




But with victory in sight, San Antonio’s shooting went cold and the absence of newly crowned NBA Defensive Player of the Year Wembanyama was glaring. A determined Portland stole the win, finishing the fourth quarter on a 27-10 run.


Scoot Henderson paced Portland’s scoring with 31 points, and Holiday chipped in 16.


“Basketball is a game of runs, and the basketball gods are always gonna repay the ones that play the game right,” Henderson told NBC television after the game.


 
 
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is in Portland on Friday.


LeBron Leads Shorthanded Lakers

Elsewhere Tuesday, a depleted Los Angeles Lakers side delivered another disciplined defensive display to beat the Houston Rockets 101-94 and take a surprise 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.


With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined by injuries in the final weeks of the regular season, many had already written off the Lakers’ chances of making a serious playoff run.

  
But LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard combined to perfection to carry the Lakers to a second straight win over the Kevin Durant-led Rockets.


James ended with 28 points, with Smart adding 25 and Kennard 23, giving the Lakers belief they can advance as the series shifts to Houston for Game 3 on Friday.



“As hard as we played in game one, we knew we had to double that in game two,” James said.


“They were going to come in with desperation, so we had to be even more desperate. I thought we played a hell of a game.


“Our own mindset now is focused on game three,” the 41-year-old NBA icon added.


“We know we're going into a hostile environment. Guys tend to play better at home than they do on the road so we have to be ready for that.”


Sixers Even Series in Boston

In the Eastern Conference playoffs, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 59 points as the Philadelphia 76ers earned a series-leveling 111-97 road win over the Boston Celtics.


Edgecombe hit six of 10 from three-point range and finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in a stunning Sixers victory. Philadelphia had trailed 26-13 early in the first quarter before rallying.


Maxey was just as dangerous from deep, knocking down five three-pointers on his way to 29 points.


 

The bounce-back win came after the Sixers were thumped 123-91 in Game 1 on Sunday, a performance Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse called “absolutely unacceptable.”


Nurse was, unsurprisingly, much happier with his team’s winning performance on Tuesday.


“I thought we just played much better team defense tonight,” said Nurse, who also saluted his team's resolve after Boston surged into an early double-digit lead.


“I think we did a great job of just taking that punch,” Nurse said.




Jaylen Brown led Boston with 36 points, but Jayson Tatum was the only other Celtics player in double figures with 19. The Celtics shot just 35-of-89 from the field for the game.


Game 3 is in Philadelphia on Friday.
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