Victor Wembanyama smiled again. His face was beaming throughout the match, from the start of the match when he clearly decided to give it all up. Until finally, he hit a three-pointer from long range that sealed the fate of a sometimes difficult encounter for the San Antonio Spurs (121-117 win). The Spurs’ No. 1 stat sheet says it all about his incredible performance (38 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks).
“He was ready, he led this game from start to finish,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. He was focused, and dominated, ending this encounter cleanly. » A sign of Wembanyama’s complete performance: last night he became the first player in NBA history to reach 35 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 three-pointers and 5 blocks in one game!
In trouble at the start of November, under pressure from a tight and aggressive defence, here are two games where the Frenchman seemed determined to let it all go, to return to a carefree start. And to once again expand his range of play: while the start of the season marked moves towards the basket, Wemby is now starting to try his luck from afar. As if to stretch the opponent’s defense, to prevent defenders from predicting his behavior.
Wemby Tornado
And it worked! At the beginning of the meeting, we saw him excited like never before. Spurs’ first two attacking balls? He was the one who took his chance. In contrast, Nikola Vucevic struggled to deal with the Frenchman’s liveliness and skill. “He loved the duel he had to fight tonight,” confirmed Mitch Johnson. Wemby, who finished the game with 57% success (including 6 of 9 three-pointers!), then had some fun on the opposing defense, playing hands with teammates De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes.
In the second quarter, he had a block on one end and a three-pointer on the other, respectively. Chicago was unprepared for the Wemby tornado! At the end of the first half, San Antonio had 5 blocks, including 4 for Wemby. Chicago didn’t record a single…
The second half was similar for the Frenchman. He succeeded against Vucevic thanks to his trademark second jump of quality: just when his opponent thought he had beaten him with a trick, Wemby still managed to take off in a completely unexpected way.
Moments later, Vucevic missed an easy layup. “That’s what it was like to have Victor Wembanyama on the court, Vucevic must have been scared to see him suddenly come to fight him! », imagine former player Sean Elliott, now a consultant, on TV.
End of game? He supports Wemby, of course. First three points to bring his team back to level, then one more point to close the match. “Grab your hot dog and go home,” snapped Sean Elliott. Not hot dogs for Wemby, but big smiles and a win, a new one, the 8th of the season, with just 2 defeats. The Spurs are second in the Western Conference.
