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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama plays with an agility and a gracefulness beneath his daunting wingspan that can make his dominance for the San Antonio Spurs on both ends of the floor appear almost effortless.
Fresh cuts and bruises on those long arms after fighting for paint position and jockeying for rebounds all night with the Minnesota Timberwolves made clear Wembanyama had to put in plenty of work to compile 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a 115-108 victory in Game 3 on Friday that gave the Spurs a 2-1 lead in their second-round NBA playoff series.
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“It’s going to happen,” Wembanyama said. “They’re Wolves, after all.”
The Spurs stayed unbeaten on the road in this postseason with their first win in a truly close game, after four victories in the first round over the Portland Trail Blazers with margins between 12 and 21 points.
“They just continue showing growth,” coach Mitch Johnson said.
Starting with Wembanyama. The 22-year-old phenom from France in his first NBA postseason has played in only seven playoff games, but he has wasted no time writing quite a legacy.
The only other players in NBA history to hit the 35-point, 15-rebound, five-block thresholds in a playoff game? Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal. And only Wembanyama has now done it while shooting better than 70% from the floor. The 7-foot-4 star was 13 for 18 — and 10 for 12 from the line.
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“It’s good to be along with the big fellas,” said Wembanyama, who credited Olajuwon for teaching him a spin fadeaway he sank over his mentor Rudy Gobert during a 16-point fourth quarter.
He did that despite picking up his fifth foul with 6:18 left, sitting for only about a minute down the stretch while helping the Spurs pull away each time the Wolves were within one possession.
“Just staying calm, getting my senses back,” Wembanyama said. “Our coaches tell us what to do. They give us the recipe, so as long as we stay steady and we trust our process we’re going to be all right.”
Wembanyama set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocked shots in the series opener,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wemby-matches-kareem-hakeem-shaq-064950097.html
Author : DAVE CAMPBELL
Publish date : 2026-05-09 06:49:00
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