Sometimes he looks even bigger than usual. Victor Wembanyama crushed everything on Thursday evening during a victory obtained in a landslide, at the end of overtime against the Atlanta Hawks (133-126). He scored 42 points from all positions and in all ways, including the most spectacular, and deterred the opposing attack.
He overshadowed the performance of his compatriot, Zaccharie Risacher, the other Frenchman chosen in first position in the NBA Draft: the Atlanta winger struggled to exist, scoring 9 points while lacking shooting precision (4 on 13).
“Victor imposed his will in a positive way, and when he is demonstrative like that, when he plays with conviction and when he receives the ball where he asked for it, nothing is going to stop him,” deciphers the Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
“I like that we go into games expecting to win them,” said Wemby, who also finished with six rebounds, five assists, four blocks. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. But this match is the one where we played the fairest. We hurt them where they needed to. This is a great step in the right direction. We still make mistakes but we have more experience and we are improving. »
Dunks from elsewhere
At halftime, Wemby had already scored 24 points and yet we hadn’t seen anything yet. Midway through the fourth quarter, when he seemed off balance, he threw the ball against the boards and recovered it, coming back out of nowhere, to crush it in the circle. “He destroyed the defender, he’s unreal,” belches the local TV commentator on the edge of the floor.
On the bench, substitute Malaki Branham indicates with two fingers of his right hand that the opponents are too small for Wemby. “It’s the kind of thing we do in our backyard, but he does it in the NBA,” says winger Devin Vassell.
Right after, Wemby sends Sochan to the alley-oop, and we see the rage coming out of his mouth and his fists. “When I saw him make that pass, I said: there is no waysays Vassell. And if, with him, there is a way! »
But the last three minutes are more difficult for the Frenchman: he misses two three-point attempts, including one on which Chris Paul asked him, with a supporting gesture, to go closer to the circle. He also missed one of his two free throws, 17 seconds from the end, leaving Atlanta two points.
On the next action, he was caught in speed, dunked on the head, and sent to the ground, by De’Andre Hunter who equalized and looked at him, sweet words to boot. Wemby responds, although he should not have: the referees sanction both players. The two technical fouls cancel each other out, depriving the Spurs of the possibility of getting back in front thanks to a free throw if Victor Wembanyama had not responded. “Don’t piss off the animal,” consultant and former Spurs player Sean Elliott warns on TV.
“That moment put us in a certain state of mind,” Wemby reveals. It’s the kind of moment you don’t forget. Getting dunked on it happens. I had four blocks, so only one dunk on me is OK. But this moment woke us up, stung us. »
The Wemby extension is indeed a model of its kind. He makes a three-point basket, comes from nowhere to against Jalen Johnson, goes to dunk by crossing the racket in one jump, then succeeds in another attempt from distance, without hesitation. “At one point, I told Julian (Champagnie) : did you see that, did you see what he does?supports Chris Paul, who has seen others in his career. And then it covers so many errors. We know he’s behind it. The way he counters opposing attacks changes absolutely everything. He’s really different. »
The Spurs, for the first time in the entire season, beat the 7th in the Eastern Conference, highlighting the imbalance in level between the two tables.
Related News :