Was it too difficult, were the legs too heavy, a day after beating the Utah Jazz? Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs collapsed last night in Houston, after leading by 16 points during the second quarter. Their catastrophic second half saw the Rockets come back like a cannonball, and win in the final minutes (111-106).
Victor Wembanyama did not have his usual influence (14 points). Symbol of his team’s difficulties, he only scored two points in the second half! And again: it was at the very end of the match, when the score was decided and Houston was no longer defending. However, he tried a lot during the second act, at mid-distance (7 attempts), from afar (4 attempts), but nothing wanted to go in.
Over the entire match, the Frenchman attempted 21 shots, in the high range for his season, but only managed 5. Including 0 out of 7 from three points which was a blemish, whereas in recent matches he seemed to have found success from afar.
A basket above Durant and that’s it
The Frenchman, who also grabbed 10 rebounds and made 2 assists, did not manage a single block all evening. He played more than 30 minutes for only the second time since mid-November and the start of his physical problems (calf strain in particular). He scored a superb basket over Kevin Durant, the player he was most inspired by, and he slammed a thunderous dunk at the start of the second quarter to make room for his shoulder, but that’s about it.
Does he make a mark? His opposite number, the talented Turkish player Alperen Sengun, has his own idea of Wemby’s average performance: “We were very physical on him, we tried to make all his attempts difficult, and everyone in the team did a great job on him. »
The Spurs have long had an illusion thanks to the insolent success of Champagnie, author of 27 points in total, including 21 behind the circle. But the rest, and especially the level of aggressiveness, did not follow.
They lost to the Rockets who are increasingly asserting themselves as serious candidates for the title, even though the season may not have been open for very long. These two Texan teams, only 300 kilometers apart, will perhaps meet in the final phase.
