Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will look to grab a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series against Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Frost Bank Center.
After trailing early in the first quarter in Game 1, the Spurs ended the opening twelve minutes on a 21-9 run, that was capped off by a Keldon Johnson 3-pointer at the buzzer. San Antonio would lead by as many as 21 points and go on to win the opening game of the series at home, 111-98. The Spurs were led by a game-high 35 points from Victor Wembanyama who made an immediate impact in his first career playoff game. Portland All-Star Deni Avdija led the way for the Trail Blazers with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
In what was their first career NBA playoff games, both Wembanyama and Avdija made history for their respective franchises. Wembanyama’s 35 points were the most points by a Spurs’ player in their playoff debut. He also knocked down a team record five, three-pointers (also a record for a Spurs player in his playoff debut). Avdija, the 25-year-old from Israel, scored 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. He became the first Portland player ever to post a 30/10/5 stat line in a playoff game and also became the third player in NBA history to post a 30/10/5 stat line in their playoff debut (Julius Erving – 1977, LeBron James – 2006).
The ultimate differences in Game 1 came down to the contributions or lack thereof from the supporting cast of each team and the Spurs’ surprising control of the glass. Four of the Spurs’ role players scored in double figures (Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, and Luke Kornet) while only Scoot Henderson hit double digits in the scoring column for Portland. San Antonio beat Portland at their own game on the glass in Game 1. The Trail Blazers were second in the NBA in offensive rebounding (14.1 OREB/gm) and led the NBA in second chance points (18.5 per gm) in the regular season, but the Spurs held a +7 advantage on the boards (45-38) and totaled 11 OREBs compared to Portland’s 8 offensive boards in the series opener.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Portland Trail Blazers (+470), San Antonio Spurs (-650)
This game opened Spurs -12.5 with the Game Total set at 218.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Jordan McLaughlin (ankle) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
David Jones Garcia (ankle) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
Damian Lillard (Achilles) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
The OVER has cashed in 43 of the Blazers’ 84 games this season (43-41)
The OVER has cashed in 36 of the Spurs’ 84 games this season (36-48)
Victor Wembanyama was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year on Monday
Wembanyama is the first unanimous winner of the award
Deni Avdija was named a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award