Wemby out after hard fall, in concussion protocol

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was ruled out of the remainder of Tuesday night's first-round playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio after being placed in the concussion protocol.

Wembanyama was hurt when he tumbled face-first to the court in the second quarter. He was fouled by Jrue Holiday after he spun around the Trail Blazers point guard in the paint and was not able to brace himself on the fall, with his jaw hitting the court with 8:57 remaining in the quarter.

He remained on the court for about 30 seconds before rising to a seated position for about a minute and speaking to teammate Stephon Castle. San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson called timeout to check on Wembanyama, who immediately ran through the tunnel after getting to his feet.

The Spurs then said he was in the concussion protocol and would not return.

Any extended absence for Wembanyama would be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league's second-best record behind the versatile 7-foot-4 center from France.

San Antonio is in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and beat Portland in Game 1 of the series.

Wembanyama was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, winning the award unanimously. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks this season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.