Victor Wembanyama set a new San Antonio record for the most points in an NBA playoff debut as the Spurs outlast Portland.By ReutersPublished On 20 Apr 202620 Apr 2026Victor Wembanyama scored 35 points in his postseason debut as the host San Antonio Spurs used a fourth-quarter run to create separation in a 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.The Spurs took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 2 on Tuesday in the Alamo City before switching to Portland for Games 3 and 4.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listWembanyama broke Tim Duncan’s franchise record (32 in 1998) for most points in a playoff debut. He led all first-half scorers with 21 points – a league record for most in the first half of an NBA playoff debut going back to 1997, the start of the play-by-play era.“It’s good to get this one out of the way,” Wembanyama said. “We just tried to do the things we’ve been doing all year and stay solid. There was pressure on us to win the first game, but it wasn’t that much pressure if we just stayed to the plan.”San Antonio, the second seed in the West, led by 10 at halftime and by 15 after three quarters before all but cementing the win by scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter to go up 93-72.The seventh-seeded Trail Blazers clawed their way back to within 11 via a 13-3 run capped by Deni Avdija’s dunk with 4:27 to play, but San Antonio held strong down the stretch.“Something that we learned is that every possession matters,” Scoot Henderson said. “Next game, I think we are all gonna be more …
