Victor Wembanyama made two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining and the San Antonio Spurs overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to notch a 118-116 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Wembanyama made all 10 of his free-throw attempts while recording 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Devin Vassell scored 23 points off the bench, Julian Champagnie had 19 points and Jeremy Sochan added 15 for San Antonio, which overcame Portland with a 24-4 run in the final quarter.
Jerami Grant matched his career high of eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points as Portland lost its fifth straight game and fell for the ninth time in the past 11. Anfernee Simons produced 30 points and seven assists, and Deni Avdija had 19 points off the bench.
Vassell got the roll on a mid-range jumper as the Spurs went ahead by two with 12.2 seconds to play. Grant drove to the hoop and banked in a tying shot to tie it at 116 with 6.4 seconds to go.
Wembanyama was fouled while seeking the last shot and calmly made both free throws. Avdija’s halfcourt shot was off the mark as time expired.
San Antonio’s Chris Paul was called for two technical fouls 11 seconds apart late in the first quarter to draw an ejection.
Harrison Barnes had 10 points for San Antonio, which shot 51.8 percent from the field and was 14 of 30 (46.7 percent) from 3-point range.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 11 points for the Trail Blazers, who made 51.2 percent of their shots while going 16 of 41 (39 percent) from behind the arc.
The Spurs trailed by 17 before ripping off 11 straight points to move within 105-99 on a putback by Charles Bassey with 5:27 remaining in the game.
San Antonio continued churning and Champagnie connected on the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:08 left to cap the 24-4 surge.
Grant responded with his eighth trey to tie it at 112 with 1:07 remaining.
Grant scored 22 points in the third quarter as Portland tallied 46 in the period to turn a 52-42 halftime deficit into an 88-80 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Simons drained a 3-pointer and Avdija scored the next four points as the Trail Blazers took a 100-86 lead with 9:28 to go.
Portland’s lead reached 105-88 on Jabari Walker’s runner with 8:29 remaining before San Antonio rallied in impressive fashion.
–Field Level Media