Victor Wembanyama Sustains Concussion in Playoff Fall, Ruled Out for Game 2

SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama sustained a concussion on a hard fall during the second quarter of Tuesday night's Game 2 playoff loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Wembanyama played just 12 minutes before being placed in the concussion protocol and ruled out for the game. "I just know he has a concussion and he's in the protocol," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson after the team's 106-103 loss, which evened the first-round series at 1. Asked if Wembanyama was being evaluated for anything beyond a concussion, Johnson added: "No." Under the league's concussion protocol guidelines, a player must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery after the time of injury and then must hit several benchmarks while being symptom-free before he is cleared to play. He'll then require clearance from a team doctor in consultation with a league protocol director. Game 3 is Friday in Portland. Wembanyama's spill came as he was driving to the basket with 8:57 left in the second quarter and Jrue Holiday defending. He landed chin first on the court and appeared to knock himself out, with his eyes closing briefly. The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama sat underneath the basket for several minutes as the team called a timeout and "Wemby" chants from the crowd filled Frost Bank Center. He eventually popped up and ran through the tunnel toward the locker room, with head athletic trainer Will Sevening following. Holiday was whistled for a non-shooting foul on the play, and the Spurs subbed in backup center Luke Kornet for Wembanyama. A little more than 15 minutes later, Sevening returned to the Spurs bench while Wembanyama remained in the locker room. The Spurs then ruled him out, saying he was in the concussion protocol. Wembanyama had five points and four rebounds before exiting. A third-year veteran, the 22-year-old became the youngest NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Monday and the first player to win the award unanimously. He averaged a career-high 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 blocks and a steal during the regular season, becoming the only player in the NBA to tally 1,500-plus points, 700-plus rebounds, 150-plus blocks and 50-plus steals. Wembanyama produced 43 games with a block and a steal, and posted 50 multiblock games, which included 17 outings with five blocks or more. In Game 1 of the series, a 111-98 Spurs win Sunday, he had 35 points and five rebounds.