“This is undoubtedly our biggest victory of the season! » Author of 17 points in three minutes in the 3rd quarter, Victor Wembanyama had a hard time coming down from his cloud after the surprise victory of the Spurs against the Nuggets, leaders of the Western Conference before the meeting. A victory snatched at the last second by Devonte’ Graham, hero of the end of the match while Denver thought they had done the hard part by taking a 23-point lead in the 3rd quarter. Nikola Jokic and his team still led by 17 points at the start of the 4th quarter.
And then, they completely foiled… Thanks to Zach Collins who first scored a 9-0 to get back below 10 points (107-99). Jamal Murray stops the bleeding but Julian Champagnie, at 3-points, and the precious Sandro Mamukelashvili, near the circle, follow up with a 5-0. In four minutes, the Spurs scored a 14-2 to return to three units (107-104). Madness can then take over the Frost Bank Center.
The last five minutes are going to be epic! Particularly because Jamal Murray will pull out all the stops to maintain this lead. Victor Wembanyama, with the dunk, or Mamukelashvili, with 3-points, insist, but the leader of the Nuggets does not want to let go of this lead, and this first place in the ranking. It’s him again who restores a seven-point lead four minutes from the end (116-109). And then, the Nuggets will let go. Nikola Jokic takes an offensive foul, then gets countered by Wemby.”
Graham, the hero!
Two minutes from the siren, the Spurs are in contact: 118-117! Tre Jones asks the audience to make even more noise. The fans are standing and we can no longer see the pitch lines, and even some of the players.
It’s Aaron Gordon who cools the room with a tap (120-117), and behind Wemby loses a ball! Mamukelashvili saves it by covering Michael Porter Jr under the circle. The Nuggets winger has a second 3-point chance to kill the game, but he misses his shot in the corner. Ball to the Spurs with 44 seconds left. Ball to Wembanyama, with two players on their backs. He serves Graham who goes to score in traffic: 120-119. There are 30 seconds left to play.
Then ball to Nikola Jokic, near the free throw line. It’s his garden, and yet he fails. Spurs rebound. There’s less than ten seconds left, and Tre Jones is rushing to the other side. He serves Graham who, on a Eurostep, facing two Nuggets, scores at the last second.
There is total delirium in the room. The Spurs have gone ahead! Behind, the Nuggets will not even manage to make the throw-in, and this is perhaps their biggest disappointment of their season.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Denver falls back to 3rd place! The Wolves and the Thunder won against the Hawks and the Bucks respectively, the podium is turned upside down. OKC takes the lead, followed by Minnesota. Denver finds itself 3rd. On the final day, the Wolves will host the Suns, while the Thunder will host the Mavericks. These are high-stakes matches. The Nuggets will end the season against the Grizzlies.
– No sad franchise record for the Spurs. With this 21st victory, Wembanyama and his young teammates are doing better than the 1997 Spurs, who only won 20 games. Honor is safe.
– Wembanyama’s heatstroke. It was the Frenchman who changed the course of the match in the 3rd quarter. Boiling, to the point of planting a 3-pointer from 9 meters with first intention, “Wemby” will score 17 points in three minutes!!!
San Antonio / 121 Shots Rebounds Players Min Shots 3pts LF ODT Pd Fte Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval S. Mamukelashvili 30 8/14 3/5 2/4 2 10 12 2 3 0 2 1 -1 21 26 J. Champagnie 37 4/5 2/3 4/4 1 4 5 2 0 0 1 0 +11 14 19 V. Wembanyama 37 12/27 5/12 5/7 1 11 12 5 1 1 7 2 -11 34 30 T. Jones 39 6/11 1/2 1/3 0 6 6 10 1 0 3 0 +17 14 20 B. Wesley 19 1/2 0/0 0/0 0 1 1 4 2 0 1 0 -28 2 5 Z. Collins 21 5/9 2/3 3/3 3 3 6 3 0 1 2 1 -4 15 20 D. Graham 32 4/11 2/7 1/2 2 2 4 5 0 0 2 0 +6 11 10 D. Duke Jr. 8 1/1 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 +1 2 2 S. Cissoko 17 4/5 0/1 0/0 2 1 3 0 5 0 0 0 +14 8 10 45/8 15/33 16/23 11 38 49 31 13 2 18 4 121 142 Denver / 120 Shots Rebounds Players Min Shots 3pts LF ODT Pd Fte Int Bp Ct +/- Pts Eval A. Gordon 29 6/6 1/1 0/0 2 2 4 4 1 1 0 0 +1 13 22 M. Porter Jr. . 29 5/14 1/5 3/3 0 3 3 0 2 0 1 0 -7 14 7 N. Jokic 39 9/13 1/2 3/3 2 4 6 12 5 2 3 1 -1 22 36 J. Murray 29 14/26 5/11 2/2 0 5 5 4 1 1 1 0 -4 35 32 K. Caldwell-Pope 29 2/6 1/4 0/0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 -7 5 4 Z. 9 0/1 0/0 0/0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 P. Watson 19 3/8 0/1 0/0 1 5 6 0 2 1 0 1 -2 6 9 J . Holiday 15 3/7 2/6 0/0 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 +3 8 8 R. Jackson 19 3/9 0/2 0/0 0 1 1 4 2 2 0 0 +3 6 7C. Braun 23 4/7 2/4 1/2 0 4 4 3 2 0 1 2 +9 11 15 49/97 13/36 9/10 5 27 32 31 19 9 6 4 120 141
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
2024-04-13 23:20:01
#incredible #feat #Victor #Wembanyamas #Spurs #Basket #USA
