The day after his XXL performance against Charlotte (26 points and 11 rebounds in just 19 minutes), Victor Wembanyama was left to rest against Chicago, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, on the floor of San Antonio. The young French player (20 years old) is still managed with great caution by the Spurs staff, a consequence of the ankle injury suffered by the pivot on December 23, and his coach, Gregg Popovich, has already made it known that the prodigy will also not play the two matches of the next “back-to-back” (two matches in two nights) of the Texan franchise, on January 19 in Charlotte and on the 20 in Washington.
In his absence, Nikola Vucevic dominated the game by compiling 24 points and 16 rebounds. The Montenegrin pivot also scored the winning basket, a three-pointer 30 seconds from the final buzzer which gave the Bulls a definitive advantage (+4).
After two victories in a row, the Spurs of Keldon Johnson (26 points) and a very clumsy Devin Vassell (5 points to 1/13 on shots) therefore fall back into their faults and remain last in the Western Conference.
Washington déroule
San Antonio now has the same record (7 wins, 31 losses) as the franchise from the capital, Washington, which won its best victory of the season by putting 28 points in the sight of the Atlanta Hawks (127-99) . If Kyle Kuzma was once again the Wizards’ top scorer (29 points), French rookie Bilal Coulibaly (19 years old) had another very complete match coming off the bench.
In 28 minutes, the guard scored 12 points, took 6 rebounds, distributed 3 assists and made 2 interceptions and continues to establish himself, particularly through his defensive investment, as a major player in the squad.
Recently recalled from the G-League, Ousmane Dieng (0 points at 0/2 in 9 minutes) was not successful during Oklahoma City’s victory against Orlando (112-100). Finally, Evan Fournier did not come into play at all during the Knicks’ success in Memphis (106-94). The French full-back has only been used in two matches this season.
