With an extraordinary Of the fleshwho had not played for a month, the San Antonio Spurs They overthrew the almighty this Saturday Oklahoma City Thunder by 109-111 in the West semi-final of the NBA Cup and they will face the New York Knicks in the grand finale in Las Vegas.
Los Thunder They reached the semi-final with a halo of invincibility, with 16 consecutive victoriesonly one defeat in the entire season and after humiliating the Phoenix Suns in the quarterfinals.
Wembanyama had a stellar game for the Spurs. Away from the courts since November 14when he injured his calf against the Golden State Warriorsthe Frenchman started on the bench and came to the rescue of a team that was sinking.
In less than 21 minutes on the pitch, ‘Wemby’ signed 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. But the most important thing was his dispute in the paint and how he opened spaces in attack. With him on the track, the Spurs dominated the Thunder by 21 points. In addition to Wembanyama, for San Antonio, Devin Vassell contributed 23 points, Stephon Castle 22 and De’Aaron Fox another 22.
It may seem like just a game, but it’s a collective effort, and it’s not an easy thing.
“It may seem like just a game, but it is a collective effort, and it is not an easy thing. It’s only their second loss; means something”he stated after the game Of the fleshwho said he had brought “fresh air” to the team in a difficult moment.
The Spurs will fight on Tuesday for his first title since the 2014 ring. It’s been six seasons since they even managed to qualify for the playoffs.
For the Thunderwho dominate the league with an iron fist, the NBA Cup is beginning to become a curse: in 2024 they lost in the final against the Milwaukee Bucks and this year they succumb in the semifinals against the Spurs.
Wembanyama changes the game
Nerves had taken over the Spurs at the start of the game. San Antonio went 0 for 12 on three-pointers and accumulated unnecessary losses which Oklahoma City took advantage of to quickly open a gap on the scoreboard; the first quarter ended 31-20.
Mitch Johnson He called up Wembanyama, who had not played for a month and his impact was immediate: dominated on defense and created shooting opportunities against the Thunder’s strong pressurewhich had suffocated the Spurs until that point.
With ‘Wemby’ on the field, the Spurs got closer to 33-29but upon returning to the bench after just three minutes, Oklahoma City reopened the gap to their maximum advantage: 16 points.
Johnson called a timeout and gave command again to Wembanyama. With him on the track, The Spurs went 2-15including a 0-13 to close the first half, and They went to the locker room 49-46.
The second half was another story. Psychologically, the Spurs believed they were capable of beating the Thunder and, even in the minutes without ‘Wemby’, they never lost face of the game.
They took the lead for the first time on the scoreboard at the beginning of the second halfa period that recorded 11 alternations without either team managing to overcome the six-point advantage.
Was an ode to basketballa show worthy of Las Vegas and with an exciting and unexpected ending that puts deservedly to the Spurs in the final after getting rid of the Lakers in Los Angeles in the quarterfinals and the Thunder in the semis.
Beyond sporting glory, Spurs and Knicks will fight for a juicy financial prize: the champions of the NBA Cup they will pocket $530,000 per headwhile the finalists will receive $212,000.
