The Portland Trail Blazers began Thursday knowing they would be without Shaedon Sharpe and Deandre Ayton when facing the San Antonio Spurs that night at the Moda Center.
They didn’t know that their best player, Anfernee Simons, would become ill and that backup center Duop Reath would experience lower back spasms during warm-ups.
Both joined Sharpe and Ayton on the bench for the game and their collective absence was greatly felt during a 118-105 loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs (5-25) jumped out to a 38-14 lead after the first quarter and from there pretty much cruised to the win.
After being selected first overall in the summer draft, Victor Wembanyama, a rookie for the Spurs, led the team with 30 points, seven blocks, six rebounds, and six assists. Third-choice point guard Scoot Henderson of the Blazers scored a career-high 25 points and dished out four assists.
The Blazers, who are currently 8-22 and in the bottom five of the NBA, looked like a club that would be lucky to have a few victories right now even without three starters and a backup big man. This was true regardless of the Spurs’ record. The Blazers made 11 of 36 (30.6%) field goals and 3 of 19 (34.7%) three-pointers in the first half. In contrast, the Spurs recorded 33 assists while they only managed 16.
Leading the Blazers with 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists was Malcolm Brogdon. Along with his 29 points, Jerami Grant added 10 rebounds and five assists.
Henderson needed to make up some of the offense that was lacking for the Blazers when it mattered most. Henderson, starting in Simons’ place, finished with 25 points but just 8 of 23 field goals. He committed six turnovers and was called for five personal fouls, four of which came in the first half. In addition, he scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the fourth quarter, when the game was all but over.
The Blazers, as they often do, shook off being down by as much as 28 to get to within 72-65 in the third quarter. But the Spurs closed the third with a 15-9 advantage to lead 87-74 heading into the fourth quarter. Less than three minutes of game action later, the Blazers trailed 98-78 after Wembanyama scored on an alley-oop pass from Tre Jones.