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NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama likens home-court advantage to having six players on the court against five. On the road, it is like five on six.
Wemby likes it like that.
Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs thrived in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden and are undaunted by the hostile environment and the series deficit they face against the New York Knicks.
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“I like lively crowds, active crowds,” Wembanyama said Tuesday, roughly 13 hours after his 32-point, eight-rebound, six-assist dominance to pick up his first career win in the finals. “At home, it’s an extra motivation because you want to give the people who support you a good show. On the road, you want to do the opposite.”
Fresh off silencing a sellout crowd of nearly 20,000, San Antonio now gets the chance to even things up in Game 4 on Wednesday night back at the Garden in what could be an even more intense situation as fans try to will their team to the verge of its first championship since 1973.
“We find a comfort playing on the road, knowing when you’re in this environment, it’s us versus them, and obviously everybody in the crowd,” Guard De’Aaron Fox said. “When you know that — everybody behind you has your back — it allows you to settle into these games.”
Backcourt mate Stephon Castle said he and the Spurs knew their season was on the line after falling behind 2-0 in the series and credited their connectivity for being 7-3 on the road in these playoffs. If Monday was a must-win game, Wednesday is nearly that because only one of 38 teams to fall behind 3-1 in the finals came back to win it.
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“It’s something you can’t shy away from, especially with the goals and aspirations that we have,” Castle said. “Just focus on the things that matter throughout the game and not really paying too close attention to the crowd. They’re going to be there regardless, especially cheering on their team. You should want to play in those environments. I feel like that’s when we play at our best.”
Wembanyama certainly was, shaking off his buzzer-beating miss to turn in a performance fit for…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/victor-wembanyama-spurs-undaunted-road-181350788.html
Author : STEPHEN WHYNO
Publish date : 2026-06-09 18:13:00
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