SportyTV | NBA: Wembanyama suffers concussion in Spurs' loss to Trail Blazers

Scoot Henderson scored 31 points and the Portland Trail Blazers took advantage of an injury to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, rallying for a 106-103 victory over San Antonio on Tuesday night to even their Western Conference playoff series at one game apiece.

Wembanyama was diagnosed with a concussion after he tumbled face-first when he was fouled by Jrue Holiday and his jaw slammed into the floor. He did not return after the scary injury in the second quarter and entered the NBA’s concussion protocol, which raises the possibility the versatile 7-foot-4 center could miss multiple games.

The second-seeded Spurs looked like they could win without Wemby, building a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter before their offence stagnated.

Portland held San Antonio without a field goal for the final 3:37 as it closed the game on an 11-2 run. Robert Williams III converted an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left for a 104-101 lead after Deni Avdija muscled through the paint and fed him the ball.

The Spurs had won 76 straight playoff games when leading by 14 points or more in the fourth quarter. The last time they lost under those circumstances was on May 19, 2003, against Dallas.

Holiday had 16 points and nine assists, Avdija scored 14 and Williams finished with 11.

Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points, De’Aaron Fox scored 17 and Devin Vassell had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

VIBES ARE HIGH IN THE LOCKER ROOM pic.twitter.com/RvY0I3doGt
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) April 22, 2026

LeBron leads short-handed Lakers to 2-0 lead

LeBron James had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Houston Rockets for a 101-94 victory and a stunning 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Marcus Smart had 25 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who have twice overcome the absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with a team effort led by the 41-year-old James. Los Angeles did it again in Game 2 despite the return of Kevin Durant, who scored just three of his 23 points in the second half against the Lakers' tenacious defence.

Luke Kennard scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which nursed a small lead throughout the fourth quarter of Game 2. Smart found James streaking down the lane for a theatrical dunk with 55 seconds to play, and Kennard added two late free throws to ice it.

Game 3 is Friday in Houston.

Alperen Sengun had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who again struggled offensively even with Durant, who missed the series opener due to injury. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 18 points and Amen Thompson had 16, but the Rockets made only 40.4% of their shots and managed just seven 3-pointers.

King led the way pic.twitter.com/BT06PrMFkR
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 22, 2026

Edgecombe, Maxey help 76ers even series with Celtics

V.J. Edgecombe had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and nine assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers evened their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics with a 111-97 road win.

Edgecombe played much of the game in visible pain after taking a hard fall in the first half and was seen limping throughout.

Edgecombe shot 6 of 10 from 3-point range while Maxey added five 3-pointers, as the Sixers were much more efficient from deep (48.7%) than the 3-point-loving Celtics (26.0%).

Boston, who was dominant in a Game 1 blowout, jumped out to an early 26-13 lead. After a timeout, the 76ers responded by closing the first quarter on a 12-2 run and carried that momentum for the rest of the first half.

Philadelphia separated in the second quarter by scoring 37 points and shooting 8 of 11 from 3-point range in the frame.

Boston battled to trim the deficit to 91-89 midway through the fourth quarter, but Maxey had nine points and an assist during the Sixers’ ensuing 17-3 run that put the game out of reach.

Paul George added 19 points for the 76ers, who will return home for Game 3 on Friday.

Jayson Tatum had 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Celtics, while Jaylen Brown made five 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 36 points.

GG. pic.twitter.com/NV78RRHywQ
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 22, 2026

SGA wins Clutch Player of the Year Award

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added to his rapidly expanding trophy case as he was named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season.

Gilgeous-Alexander was a near-unanimous selection, earning 96 of the possible 100 first-place votes. The Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray finished second in voting.

The award has been given to a guard in each of the four seasons since its inception, with Gilgeous-Alexander joining Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry and De’Aaron Fox as winners.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 60.3% in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter this season. With the game clock under 24 seconds and the margin three points or fewer, Gilgeous-Alexander scored a league-high 29 points this season.

The award could be the first of many for Gilgeous-Alexander for this season, as he will again be named to the All-NBA First Team and is the betting favourite to repeat as the NBA’s regular season MVP.