Victor Wembanyama imposed his will in Spurs' overtime win vs. Hawks
12/20/2024 09:11 AM
Victor Wembanyama scored 42 points, blocked four shots, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Atlanta Hawks 133-126 in overtime on Thursday. The reigning Rookie of the Year accounted for his team’s first eight points of the extra period after scoring 10 in a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
“I thought he imposed his will in a positive way tonight,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said following the game.
Wemby’s play in overtime was spurred on (pun intended) by what happened late in regulation when De’Andre Hunter dunked on the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. Immediately afterward, Hunter stared down Wembanyama before throwing a few words his way. The 7-foot-5 center appeared to respond before officials assessed a double technical.
DE'ANDRE HUNTER WITH A POSTER SLAM ON WEMBY TO TIE THE GAME WITH 11 SECONDS REMAINING
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 20, 2024
“It, for sure, helped,” the Spurs leading scorer repeated. “It, for sure, helped. It, for sure, helped us get in that mood. We don’t forget.”
What allows Victor Wembanyama to excel down the stretch for Spurs?
In a little more than a season in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama has quickly built a reputation for playing his best in big moments. Thursday night vs. the Hawks proved the latest example.
“You can see it physically, just because of his sheer size when he’s demonstrative, playing with conviction, where he is going to get the ball to the spots that he wants to get to and nothing’s going to stop him,” Johnson said.
When asked whether the incident involving Hunter fired him up, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft made it about the team.
“It just felt like we had to take things like right now (in that moment) and get a little pissed, just go make big time plays when we needed to.”
“I think I’m doing a better job of putting him in spots,” Johnson continued. “I think his teammates are doing a better job of spacing around him. I think he’s a little stronger, in better shape. He had some off and on again stuff we talked about all year. I think it’s all starting to come together a little bit for him.”
Hunter’s dunk wasn’t the only fourth quarter moment involving Wembanyama that made just about every highlight reel. With six minutes to go in regulation, the French big man threw a pass to himself off the backboard for a dunk.
“I tell you, just about every night he does something that makes you go, like, ‘Man, that’s why they talk about him all the time,'” Chris Paul admitted.
Wemby's just flat out silly.#VictorWembanyama#Spurs#GoSpursGo#PorVida
— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) December 20, 2024
It’s the kind of play that’s almost come to typify all of the different things Wembanyama can do on the court. That includes the kinds of missed opportunities that are becoming increasingly rare for the 20-year-old star.
“I think there was a couple of times where he probably wanted a possession back where he didn’t do that. And as he continues to show those possessions, I think the goal will be just to continue to string those and be consistent in those areas. But he was tremendous when we needed him to be,” Johnson said.
Wemby’s play in crunch time is becoming a sweet spot for the Spurs. Perhaps it’s fitting that Johnson describes it as such.
“The cherry on top is when he does put the mentality on it, it’s tough to stop.”
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