The San Antonio Spurs suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, dropping the game 97-99. The Spurs’ rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama went off for a 31-point performance as per NBA.com, but it wasn’t enough to send the Grizzles home packing. After the game, the French national spoke to the media and shouldered the blame onto himself for not putting the final nail in the coffin for his team to come out on top.
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Victor Wembanyama had a great game against the Memphis Grizzlies. But despite his amazing stat line, the 7’4 rookie was not able to push his team over the hump, losing the game by a mere two-point differential.
Wemby scored 31 points on 11-24 shooting. He may not have had a great game from beyond the arc, shooting 3-12 but he paired those 31 points with 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals for the night.
Victor Wembanyama also had a whopping 7 turnovers for the game and only shot a mediocre 60% from the stripe, going 6-10 from the free throw line. After the game, Wembanyama chose to take accountability for the team’s loss.
Victor felt that he could’ve done more for the outcome to be a little different than it was. According to Spurs veteran writer Tim Osborne, Wembanyama said, “I remember having a thought in the first half, like when we were up by a lot, I didn’t put the nail in the coffin.”, as seen in Tim Orsborn’s X[Formerly Twitter] post.
Despite finishing with 31 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks, Wemby said he could have done more: “I remember having a thought in the first half, like when we were up by a lot, I didn’t put the nail in the coffin.”
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) March 23, 2024
This was Victor Wembanyama’s 38th double-double of the season as per StatMuse. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as an injury-riddled Grizzlies team rallied behind Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 28-point performance and his game-winning hook shot.
Wemby finishes with 31 pts and 16 rebs for his 37th double-double, but the Spurs lose 99-97 to the injury-depleted but more aggressive Grizzlies on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s jump hook with 1.2 ticks left.
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) March 23, 2024
It truly was a tough pill to swallow for Victor Wembanyama and the rest of the Spurs roster, along with the team’s fanbase. Wemby had a great game on both ends of the floor, yet the team still fell short of an underhanded Grizzlies team who were playing without their All-Star point guard, Ja Morant.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs fall short of Memphis
The San Antonio Spurs jumped out to a big lead right after the first quarter, finishing the first 12 minutes with a 30-18 score. But it did not take the Grizzlies long to rally back into the game, finishing the first half with a 43-44 score. Both teams exchanged punches throughout the game as the Spurs starting five put on a show while the Grizzlies got a huge boost off their bench.
Two players from the Grizzlies bench finished with 15 points or more. The Spurs starting five on the other hand had Devin Vassell shining bright after Wembanyama’s 31-point outing. Vassell finished the game with 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal for the game.
The 6’5 shooting guard was perfect from the stripe, shooting 5-5, and also finished the game with a 58.8% field goal percentage, going 10-17 from the field. What stood out the most from a team comparison was the disparity in three-point shooting between the Spurs and the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies shot a decent 35.4% from the field, going 12-34 from beyond the arc. The Spurs on the other hand were abysmal in their long-range bombs, shooting 7-38 from three, finishing the night with a 17.4% three-point percentage as a team.
The only silver lining was fans getting to see what the future holds for the Spurs franchise as Victor Wembanyama displayed signs and shades of greatness throughout the four quarters. Tune into NBA TV at 8:00 PM ET to see the Spurs host the Phoenix Suns next.
