The way the OKC Thunder began the game last night, it felt like nothing could stop them from adding another win to their column. The San Antonio Spurs themselves had been on a hot streak, but OKC rattled them early, holding them to 0-of-12 from three-point range and forcing turnovers everywhere they looked. Then, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson dialed 911, and Victor Wembanyama showed up posthaste.
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In a little over 20 minutes on the floor, the French giant put up 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. It all but flipped the game on its head. But that doesn’t mean the contest turned one-sided from there.
Both teams had their moments, and the game swung back and forth before the Spurs eventually pulled out a 111-109 win, advancing to face the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Finals. Notably, this marked Wembanyama’s first game after missing a month due to injury.
Ideally, anyone would prefer to be eased back into action, but the power forward not only rose to the occasion, he did so on the biggest stage possible. Unsurprisingly, his teammate De’Aaron Fox could not help but stand up and applaud the effort.
In a post-game presser, Fox revealed that Wemby had been “itching to play.” Praising his performance, Fox added, “Coming back to a game like this, a game of this magnitude against a team like that, I think that’s probably the toughest first game that you can have.”
“But he rose to the occasion. And I don’t think anybody in the locker room or probably out here, like, I don’t think anyone thought that he wouldn’t. He was out there… he did what he does. He affected the game from the moment that he stepped on the floor, both offensively and defensively, and we felt that. That’s ultimately the reason we came out on top,” the Spurs star added.
San Antonio was sinking when Wembanyama was called to action. He took over against the defense and, remarkably, created scoring chances despite OKC’s pressure-heavy game.
After the win, Wembanyama gave credit to the entire team for stepping up in such a clutch situation. “This is not a typical regular-season game … We knew that if we lose, we’re out. And you know, some people are built for these moments. Some aren’t. But we definitely are,” the Frenchman said.
The Spurs do have to consider themselves lucky to have Superman playing on their side!
