Those who see the glass half empty will tell you that the Spurs failed again, Friday night, by letting the Warriors come back in the match, finally winning 118-112. A familiar scenario since the start of the season. Those who prefer to be positive will notice that “Wemby” and his teammates stood up to the 2022 champion, as they did against the Clippers two days earlier (109-102 defeat).
Everything was played behind the arc in this meeting which counted for the mid-season tournament, since the Spurs only returned 12 of their 47 attempts from distance. Quite the opposite of Golden State, which had the hot hand in front of its public (47.5% success), like Stephen Curry, author of 7 winning shots to finish top scorer of the match with 35 points.
Wembanyama lacking three-point skill
The Spurs may have regrets as the match seemed within their reach, against a team in full doubt, which remained on 7 defeats in 8 matches before the evening clash. They fell behind for the first time in the third quarter, on a 13-0 run by the Warriors which brought the score to 82-68. Rebelote at the start of the fourth quarter, where Curry and his team regained a 14-unit lead, before Keldon Johnson brought the Spurs back to 4 points with 1 minute remaining.
“We made mistakes, but it was one of our best matches of the season”
Insufficient, since the Warriors finished the work on the free throw line by returning their 8 attempts. “They made three good shots in the fourth quarter when we missed them. That’s what made the difference tonight,” commented Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after the match.
Frenchman Victor Wembanyama (19 years old) put in a good defensive performance, punctuated by 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. He had more difficulty shooting, especially at three points (1/6), to finish with 22 points on the clock. “We made mistakes, but it was one of our best matches of the season. We will try to keep this same energy and it will soon pay off,” responded “Wemby” to the press. Fullback Devin Vassell (23) was his team’s top scorer with 24 points.
