Trail Blazers rally past Spurs 106-103 to even series after Wembanyama exits with concussion

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Scoot Henderson scored 31 points and the Portland Trail Blazers took advantage after a scary 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 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 offense stagnated.

Portland held San Antonio without a field goal for the final 3:37 as the Blazers 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.

“As a team, as a unit, I think that was our goal — to be aggressive,” Henderson said. “Hit everybody that comes through the paint, box out and play fast. I think that was all of our success and that kind of opened the floor for all of us.”

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

Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points and De’Aaron Fox added 17. Devin Vassell, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining.

Game 3 is Friday at Portland.

After scoring 35 points in the Spurs' Game 1 win, Wembanyama had five points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist in 12 minutes.

Under league guidelines, a player in the concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then hit several benchmarks without symptoms before being cleared to play. A player must undergo neurological testing and receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league’s concussion protocol director.

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.

San Antonio built that big lead with a 13-0 run to start the fourth. Backup center Luke Kornet, who replaced Wembanyama, punctuated that burst with a reverse slam for a three-point play.

Kornet finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Henderson shot 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.

“(Henderson) has been shooting the ball really well,” Vassell said. “Got to be more physical with him. No catch-and-shoots, no easy off-the-dribble pullups. I think he made ... I don’t know how many he made today. We’re going to make it a lot harder for him because he’s feeling way too comfortable.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) drives against San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) sits on the court after a hard fall during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) is blocked by Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) drives against Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) takes a hard fall on the court during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

DALLAS (AP) — Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into classrooms.

The 9-8 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a boost to backers of similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana. Opponents have argued that hanging the Ten Commandments in classrooms proselytizes to students and amounts to religious indoctrination by the government.

In a lengthy majority opinion, the conservative-leaning appeals court in New Orleans rejected those arguments in Texas, saying the requirement does not step on the rights of parents or students.

“No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin,” the ruling says.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that challenged the Texas law on behalf of parents said in a statement that they anticipate appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction. This decision tramples those rights,” they said in the statement.

The mandate is one of several fronts in Texas that opponents have fought over religion in classrooms. In 2024, the state approved optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools, and a proposal set for a vote in June would add Bible stories to required reading lists in Texas classrooms.

The decision over the Ten Commandments law reverses a lower federal court ruling that had blocked about a dozen Texas school districts — including some of the state's largest — from putting up the posters. The Texas law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott took effect in September, marking the largest attempt in the nation to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools.

From the start, the law was met almost immediately by a mix of embrace and hesitation in Texas classrooms that educate the state's 5.5 million public school students.

The mandate animated school board meetings, spun up guidance about what to say when students ask questions, and led to boxes of donated posters being dropped on the doorsteps of campuses statewide. Although the law only requires schools to hang the posters if donated, one suburban Dallas school district spent nearly $1,800 to print roughly 5,000 posters.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, called the ruling “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”

“The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” he said.

Tuesday's ruling comes after the appeals court heard arguments in January in the Texas case and a similar case in Louisiana. In February, the court cleared the way for Louisiana to enforce its law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the Texas ruling “adopted our entire legal defense” of the law in her state. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a similar law earlier this month.

“Our law clearly was always constitutional, and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us," Murrill said in a statement posted to social media.

Judge Stephen A. Higginson, in a dissenting opinion joined by four others on the court, wrote that the framers of the Constitution “intended disestablishment of religion, above all to prevent large religious sects from using political power to impose their religion on others.”

“Yet Texas, like Louisiana, seeks to do just that, legislating that specific, politically chosen scripture be installed in every public-school classroom,” Higginson wrote.

The law says schools must put donated posters “in a conspicuous place” and requires the writing to be a size and typeface that is visible from anywhere in a classroom to a person with “average vision.” The displays must also be 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall (40 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters tall).

Texas’ law easily passed the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have backed posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report from Honolulu, Hawaii.

FILE - A Ten Commandments poster and explanation of the state's new law are displayed in a classroom at Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay,File)

FILE - Students work under Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights posters on display in a classroom at Lehman High School in Kyle, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay,File)

FILE - A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)