NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
LAS VEGAS — By the time a sweat-drenched Victor Wembanyama took his seat on the Spurs bench, having played the first three and a half minutes of action in a month, a meeting with the champions that previously seemed out of reach suddenly wasn’t.
If the first quarter of Saturday night’s semifinal was a reminder of the reign of terror the 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder have enjoyed for months, the second was a reminder of the French force that refuses to bend the knee.
Advertisement
His introduction to the game — coming off the bench for the first time in his career — changed everything. The friendly skies that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had coasted in since October were now met with 7 ‘5 turbulence. Missed Spurs shots became simple second-chance opportunities for the gangly center. Halfcourt sequences that Oklahoma City would typically carry out in their sleep were now being second-guessed — with Wembanyama altering, deterring and erasing shots.
His early presence was felt in the box score, too. An 11-point lead was reduced to four. A 16-point lead was reduced to three, both in the span of a few minutes. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Wembanyama, despite only playing seven minutes, was already the leader in plus-minus (+20) by an overwhelming margin.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama’s first-half performance. “I thought he did a phenomenal job of impacting the game without having to score. He was aggressive, he wanted to play with the basketball in his hand, but I thought he did a good job of impacting the game without having to score, especially in that second quarter that you referred to.”
And when the final five minutes of regulation rolled around, behind an emotionally-invested crowd at T-Mobile Arena, the Spurs, those feisty, pesky Spurs that weren’t supposed to even be here, understood the assignment. As long as Wembanyama was on the floor, belief and confidence would germinate. His previous 12-game absence had thrust the team into unknown waters, forcing them to survive — and they responded by commanding the waves, winning nine of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-cup-is-victor-wembanyama-the-only-hope-to-curb-a-thunder-dynasty-075409000.html
Author : Kelly Iko
Publish date : 2025-12-14 07:54:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
