He ended his evening with his arms raised, clapping the hands of his teammates, then a drum by launching a clapping with the San Antonio audience. Victor Wembanyama, however, for the first time in more than 100 matches, finished a match without making a single block all evening, last night against Oklahoma City.
That’s 101 evenings in a row that he rose to his full length at least once during the 48 minutes of the match to send an opposing ball flying. Only two players had achieved a better series before him (Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing). But for Wemby, the main thing was obviously elsewhere: the collective victory which confirms the ambitions of the Texas team, solid 2nd in the Western Conference.
It almost makes you wonder who will stop them. The Spurs once again beat Oklahoma City last night in Texas (130-110), and their victory, the 7th in a row in the regular season, cannot be contested. Coach Mitch Johnson tries to dampen the enthusiasm: “We just want to progress, and we try to improve game after game. »
This is the second victory in a few days for Wemby’s teammates against the reigning champions, the ogre of the NBA. The first took place in the semi-finals of the NBA Cup, in Las Vegas, and everyone was surprised. The second, last night, emerged as the evening progressed and says everything about the progress of these Spurs who were, just two seasons ago, the worst team in the competition. “This victory above all says how much better we are compared to the start of the season, but we are still a few victories behind them (22 for San Antonio, 26 for Oklahoma)emphasizes Wemby. The objective remains to qualify directly for the play-offs. We have to be more consistent but we tick the boxes one after the other. »
Victor Wembanyama once again started the match on the substitutes’ bench. He had been announced as doubtful before the meeting but the warm-up validated his presence. Mitch Johnson justified his team’s caution towards the Frenchman, who was absent from action for a month in November due to a calf strain: “He was injured not so long ago, and we have to pay attention to the future of this kid, we have to think about the long term. We’ve traveled a lot, he’s been through a lot, and we just try to make sure that we always put his interests first, regardless of winning streaks or whatever. »
Wembanyama useful, other Spurs shine
During the 23 minutes he spent on the floor, Wembanyama was useful. He left individual statistics a little aside. He finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and therefore no blocks. The Thunder were careful never to try their luck against the French nugget.
But the threat is everywhere, this year in San Antonio, and everyone knows how to punish the opponent with their own qualities: Stephon Castle, always impressive and who proves to be extremely complete (24 points, half of which from distance), the gunners Devin Vassell (17) and Harrison Barnes (20), and the astonishing Keldon Johnson, with communicative activity (25) despite his status as a substitute. Rookie Dylan Harper made 10 assists and 5 interceptions, putting his talent at the service of the team.
San Antonio ran the ball perfectly and was fiercely aggressive on defense, pushing the Thunder several times after 24 seconds of possession. “I think it was a fun match to watch, I’ll watch it again,” smiled Wemby. We were all completely in the moment. We’re different from any other team in the league, defensively anyway. »
Opposite, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points but he was a little alone in his team in showing the right state of mind. Quite the opposite of San Antonio, while an emerging rivalry is taking shape between these two teams who will face each other five times this season, and in particular from Thursday, Christmas Day, for a match which will be closely watched in American homes.
“Talking about rivalry wouldn’t really make sense,” says Wembanyama. A rivalry is built naturally. These are matches where there is more energy, more intensity. It’s like when PSG plays Marseille! It takes years to build. » Asked a little later about Chet Holmgren, to whom he is often opposed, Wemby dodged the comparison, before blurting out: “Sportingly, there is no comparison. » A sentence that sounds like two drops of water at the start of a rivalry…
