We thought they were lost and yet they ended up winning. The Spurs came back from nowhere, from 17 points behind at the end of the third quarter to be precise, to beat Portland to the wire last night during a trip to Oregon (118-116) . The final blow was obviously delivered by Victor Wembanyama. At 116 all with less than five seconds to play, the French pivot went to provoke a foul from Jerami Grant to obtain the two decisive free throws, which he was quick to convert. Wemby finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
“We came back at the start of the fourth quarter with a lot of intensity,” analyzes coach Mitch Johnson. Jeremy (thoughts) was incredible, he brought us that spark. And Victor did a great job being very physical. »
Victor Wembanyama’s start to the match was rather convincing. He started by circling around a defender before going for a dunk, then he turned into a passer to send Jeremy Sochan to the basket with a precise lob. He then prevented Grant from scoring with an authoritarian counter, but we began to doubt the Spurs when Chris Paul, the leader of this team, was sent off by collecting two technical fouls in quick succession, a few seconds before interval, for sweet words addressed to the refereeing body. “We need to talk to each other, he can’t do this to us again,” remarks Devin Vassell without us knowing if he’s joking or if he’s serious.
“A testament to who we want to be”
Deprived of its leader, San Antonio lost control of the match. The third quarter was catastrophic. Portland took off with the score. But the Spurs patiently chipped away at their deficit during the last 12 minutes of the match. “It’s a testament to who we want to be and what our season is going to be,” said Devin Vassell.
The last seconds were intense and it was Wemby, ball in hand, who decided to cause a foul. “It was huge,” admits Vassell. When I returned to the bench, I told him: It’s time to send them home! » A feeling confirmed by another Texan, Julian Champagnie: “In this kind of situation, obviously we are going to give him the ball,” declares the winger. Go ahead, do what you have to do! »
When it came time to convert his two free throws, he took three deep breaths, made his first attempt, then his second. “He did a great job being physical throughout the game,” said Mitch Johnson. He was constant, serious about the fundamentals. It’s a part of his game that we want to continue to improve, and when he has developed all that, he will be even more difficult to play. »
The Spurs can leave Portland happy. A defeat against one of the worst teams in the League would have been a stain. San Antonio continues to hang on very close to the qualifying places for the final phases, with a balanced record (12-12 and 11th place in the Western Conference). Next step in the quest for the playoffs, the reception of Minnesota by Rudy Gobert on Sunday in Texas.