End of series for Spurs but not for Victor Wembanyama. After three consecutive victories, San Antonio lost narrowly on the night of Sunday to Monday against the Golden State Warriors (113-117). The French rookie put on another major performance after Friday night’s masterclass against the New York Knicks. Opposing the San Francisco team, he finished with an excellent statistical line: 32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 interceptions and 3 blocks.
Steph and Wemby battled all night, with the Warriors taking home their 4th win in a row!
Steph: 33 PTS, 7 3PM, 8 AST
Wemby: 32 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/oC4E88eGXL— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2024
Above all, faced with the absence of his lieutenants, Sochan the fierce defender and Vassell the gunner, both injured, he took the game into his own hands and almost everything revolved around him. Alongside, other players scored (Osman 18 pts, Collins 13), but Victor Wembanyama was called upon for most of his team’s actions, often in the paint. He also concentrated most of the Warriors’ vigilance but still managed to make a difference.
“He’s been phenomenal lately,” notes his teammate Cedi Osman. We trusted him from the start but we needed to know each other and develop automatisms. » Already impressive defensively, San Antonio’s number 1 is starting to enrich his offensive palette. We knew he was very effective on alley-oops, these passes recovered in the air to dunk. We discover other signature actions of the Frenchman, in particular these duels which he will provoke, with his back to the opponent, before concluding with the help of the board.
“Gregg Popovich insists I be more decisive”
“I don’t think I will have a single gesture that would characterize me, but rather a series of movements that I will do regularly,” he explains. I don’t want to limit my range. I have refined my game a lot since the start of the season. There were a lot of possessions that I didn’t do anything concrete with. We insisted a lot with Pop (Gregg Popovich, the coach) that I be more decisive. When I don’t score, it’s purely my fault, not the defender. I still have trouble placing my body. » When he is near the basket, on the other hand, not much can stop him, like during this dunk on the head of Jackson-Davis, who, a few weeks ago, had “posterized” Wemby. Like an air of revenge in the air…
“He is completely different from the start of the season,” said Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors and coach of Team USA, the United States selection which will participate in the Paris 2024 Games. “He is much more confident, more comfortable, he explains. He reaches his favorite shooting positions more easily and sometimes there is nothing you can do against him. »
To beat San Antonio led by Victor Wembanyama, it took a great Stephen Curry, author of 33 points including 7 3-point baskets, his specialty. More surprisingly, Draymond Green, usually more renowned for his defensive qualities, also got the ball rolling (21 points including 2/2 3-pointers). He surprised even in his post-match celebration. Accustomed to bloody blows, he put his arms around Victor Wembanyama’s neck but it was not to strangle him, as he had done earlier in the season to another Frenchman, Rudy Gobert. It was just to greet him and hug him warmly. Even the tough guys in the NBA are already won over by Wemby.
