Wembanyama makes two free throws with 2.1 seconds left in the Spurs’ 118-116 win over the Blazers

Wembanyama makes two free throws with 2.1 seconds left in the Spurs’ 118-116 win over the Blazers

Victor Wembanyama had 28 points and made two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-116 on Friday night.

Jerami Grant made a layup with 6.1 seconds left to tie the game at 116, but he fouled Wembanyama, who secured the victory in charity jersey.

The Blazers led by as many as 17 points in the final period, but San Antonio tied the game at 109 on a free throw from Jeremy Sochan before Julian Champagnie’s three-pointer gave the Spurs the lead with 2:08 left.

The Spurs had only 11 players available due to injury and lost veteran guard Chris Paul in the first half after he picked up two technical fouls.

San Antonio led 52-42 at halftime, but Grant brought the Blazers within 60 with a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter. The Blazers took an 88-80 lead into the fourth quarter and led 105-88 with 8:18 to go.

Grant finished the game with 32 points, including 22 in the third quarter, and Anfernee Simons had 30 for the Blazers. Devin Vassell had 23 points off the bench for the Spurs.

Takeaways

Spurs: Stephon Castle was sidelined for the first time this season with a bruised left shoulder. Also unavailable were Zach Collins (bruised lower back), Keldon Johnson (left calf strain) and Tre Jones (sprained left shoulder).

Trail Blazers: Donovan Clingan drew applause in the first quarter after missing seven games with a sprained left knee.

Key moment

When Paul was ejected with 1:03 left in the first quarter, the Spurs had only 10 available players.

Key statistics

Grant was 8 of 10 from the perimeter, matching his season high of 3 seconds.

Next

The Spurs host the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers visit the Suns on Sunday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *