Wemby tops Duncan with 35 in Spurs playoff debut

SAN ANTONIO -- Victor Wembanyama checked out with 52.8 seconds left, pumping his right fist in acknowledgment of the fiesta-clad crowd at Frost Bank Center celebrating the San Antonio Spurs' first playoff victory in seven years.

Wembanyama scored a game-high 35 points Sunday to lead a 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the first-round Western Conference playoff series. The Frenchman produced the highest scoring output in franchise history for a Spur making his postseason debut, surpassing the previous mark of 32 points set by Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

"I thought he was ready," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "There's an approach that we all have in terms of expectation of a heightened level of preparation, detail, nuance, competitiveness, physicality, everything. There's a real desire for that young man to participate in that. This was his first playoff game, and he has lofty expectations and goals for himself."

Wembanyama made that apparent with a dominating performance against an opponent that deployed a variety of tactics and personnel groupings devoted to stopping him. Over the course of 33 minutes, Wembanyama faced a total of eight different defenders, and the 22-year old poured in buckets on all of them.

On the other end of the floor, Wembanyama held Portland scoreless on 11 attempts when he was the contesting defender.

"He probably settled in a little bit later when he made some shots and his talent popped," Johnson said. "But he really settled in there at a point when our defense kicked it into another gear. [Portland] did a good job of trying to create multiple actions and some confusion. [Wembanyama] did a good job of quarterbacking from the second line, getting guys organized."

Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to score 35 points or more in his postseason debut while connecting on at least five 3-pointers. Wembanyama shot 13-of-21 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range, in addition to tallying five rebounds and two blocks.

"The first time I stepped on the court, even for warmups, I felt the atmosphere was different," Wembanyama said. "Everybody was ready. The fans were ready. It's probably the most excitement I've seen this year in this arena. In terms of tactics, the sport aspect of it, it was different because we had more time to prepare."

Wembanyama outpaced a strong postseason debut by Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who finished with a team-high 30 points and became the first in franchise history to score 30 with 10 rebounds and five assists in a playoff game.

"Vic is Vic, and he had a tremendous game," said Spurs forward Devin Vassell.

Wembanyama knocked down 4 of 6 while guarded by Donovan Clingan, and hit 2 of 5 matched up against Robert Williams III. He was 2-of-4 for 7 points with only one turnover on the six plays Portland double-teamed him.

Wembanyama expects more attention and physicality from the Trail Blazers in Game 2 on Tuesday.

"Of course," Wembanyama said. "It's their identity. It's something to be expected, and it's also to be expected that they'll double up on that in the next games. But we're ready."

Wembanyama started the game sinking four of his first six shots and finished the first half with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from deep as San Antonio headed into intermission leading 59-49.

Portland started the second half on an 8-0 run to pull within two points on a Scoot Henderson 14-foot pull-up jumper -- but that's as close as the Blazers would get.

The Spurs improved to to 11-0 at home in the playoffs against the Trail Blazers, the best home record by any team in the NBA against any franchise.

"One down, one down," Keldon Johnson screamed from a jubilant home locker room.

Wembanyama closed the game with a 14-point fourth quarter as Spurs luminaries such as Duncan and David Robinson looked on. When the scoreboard flashed a shot of Duncan and Robinson in the second half seated side by side, the sellout crowd of 19,372 roared its loudest all night outside of game action.

Wembanyama took notice.

"I heard the crowd when they went on the camera," he said. "Seeing those two courtside and the recognition they get from the fans was amazing. It's so cool."

ESPN Research contributed to this report.