In last night’s duel of extremes between the contenders for the title of Phoenix, at home but still deprived of Devin Booker (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back), and the young shoots of San Antonio, it was indeed the latter who pulled off the perfect heist.
By imposing itself on the tiniest of margins. By leading only two seconds over the entire meeting. At the end of a breathtaking and simply memorable end to the match (115-114)!
The Spurs did not give up
Everything came down to the final seconds again, for the third time this season (in four games), and the Spurs are visibly starting to get used to it. In any case, they like the tension at the end of the match.
Victor Wembanyama (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks), Keldon Johnson (27 points) and Devin Vassell (18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) took matters into their own hands, accumulating 25 points (out of 33) in the last quarter , including this final basket scored by Keldon Johnson who simply snatched the ball from the hands of Kevin Durant.
Clutch with several decisive 3-points, Devin Vassell appreciated this first success for the Spurs away from home. Even more so after such a stunning scenario!
“It’s a big victory for us, it just shows that we fought until the end”he explained on ESPN. “It wasn’t a great sight when we were up to twenty points apart. But we have a young group. We fight and we are hungry. »
“Wemby” more comfortable under pressure?
Author of 9 of his 18 points in the last quarter, Victor Wembanyama also confirmed that he preferred the end of the match. This season, it only runs at 8 points on average over the first three quarters Match, at 31% success (10/32) including 19% from afar (3/16).
On the other hand, it displays 7.3 points average in the fourth quarter, at 80% success (12/15) of which 67% from afar (2/3). A small sample, certainly, but very surprising…
“I always preferred the end of matches because that’s when I feel better. But I know I have to do better [pour débuter les rencontres]. This is an area of progression. I have to play hard from the start of the match,” explains the French in the Express Newsbefore concluding, philosopher. “The goal is to be good in all four quarters, not just the fourth. But I have to say that it’s always better to be bad first and finish strong, rather than the other way around! »
On the bench, Gregg Popovich can only appreciate the progress of his troops, starting with his interior.
“We made billions of mistakes but we held on until the end. I am proud of my players. [Victor] also continues to move forward despite his mistakes. He is learning what he can and cannot do in this League, what he needs to improve on. But he will always try. He learns quickly. His second half was much better than his first. We need to get him comfortable earlier in the game, I guess. »
| Victor Wembanyama | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2023-24 | SAN | 3 | 27 | 44.7 | 23.1 | 66.7 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 15.7 |
| Total | 3 | 27 | 44.7 | 23.1 | 66.7 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 15.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
