Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama will miss Game 3 of San Antonio’s first-round playoff series against the host Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night as he remains in concussion protocol.
Wembanyama sustained a concussion in the second quarter of Tuesday’s second game of the series. He did not return to the game, but traveled with the team to Portland and was labeled as questionable for Friday until just over an hour from the start of the game.
“Victor is not playing tonight. Obviously there’s a lot that goes into that, but he’s doing well and progressing,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Portland won Tuesday’s game 106-103 to level the series at one win apiece.
Wembanyama, who became the NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year this season and is one of three finalists for Most Valuable Player, averaged a career-best 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game this season.
He led the league with 3.1 blocks per game and broke Tim Duncan’s franchise record when he scored 35 points in his postseason debut in the Spurs’ 111-98 Game 1 win over the Trail Blazers.
San Antonio was 50-14 in games Wembanyama played this regular season and was 12-6 without him.
