We believed it for a moment. But only one moment: these five minutes at the very start of the second half, upon returning from the locker room, where Victor Wembanyama sounded the revolt of Spurs who had been completely transparent during the first act. In five minutes, Wemby scored 12 points, grabbed a harvest of rebounds and clenched his fist, looking angry, numerous times. But the rebellion was short-lived and San Antonio ended up letting the match slip away that should not have been lost. Beaten in Phoenix (104-93) on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the Texans say “goodbye” to the final stages of the NBA Cup. They needed a win to finish top of their group.
The Spurs had made qualification a goal, but were weighed down by a catastrophic first half, and a problematic three-point address (8 out of 44, or 18% success)… two days after breaking the shooting record successful long-distance goals for the franchise (23 in Sacramento on Sunday). “Our defensive effort was very good, but we missed a lot of points,” noted coach Mitch Johnson. I hope we make more baskets next game. When our offense suffers this much, it puts too much pressure on our defense. »
How can we explain so much inconsistency on the part of the Spurs in their effectiveness against the basket? “The real difficulty is adapting to defense in real time,” replies Victor Wembanyama. When you watch the actions on video, the solution is obvious, but seeing it in real time is something else. »
West’s Best November Defenseman
Victor Wembanyama, named best defender of the month for November in the Western Conference, did not escape the slump. He only succeeded in one of his 9 attempts from distance. He also did not know how to sufficiently exploit his size advantage near the basket, preferring to play around him. Visibly tired, dark circles under his eyes, he never seemed in the shot during the first act. So there were these five minutes at the start of the second half, where we imagined the possible feat.
He snatches his first two points of the evening after 12 seconds in the third quarter, then he connects two actions in quick succession which provoke sighs of exclamation from the entire Arizona room. He first goes under the basket to dunk, then achieves an alley-oop… with his back to the circle, perfectly served by Chris Paul. He finished the game with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, but for once, it was one of his teammates who particularly shone: Devin Vassell, author of 25 points with very little waste (10 out of 14 including 4 out of 5 at three points).
Opposite, despite the premature exit of Kevin Durant injured in the ankle, Devin Booker took matters into his own hands: 29 points, some of which were in the most important moments. The Spurs will be able to focus entirely on the championship, where they are aiming to qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season.
