It's done, Victor Wembanyama can let go of the horses again and play for more than 25 minutes! Tonight, the Frenchman played 29 minutes, and he blackened the sheet as much as usual with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. But… there was a lot of waste with 7 lost balls and a 7 out of 18 on shots.
“Wemby” got started with a monstrous cake on Anfernee Simons then an alley-oop on a pass from Tre Jones. The Spurs took the opportunity to go 8-0 and take control of the match (18-12). But Simons is already unleashed, and he takes advantage of Toumani Camara's hard work to land a 3-pointer. The Blazers take the first quarter (33-26).
Wembanyama shines then goes out…
On the Spurs side, it is the Osman-Wemby connection that works well, and the two immediately bring the Spurs back into contact. The Frenchman causes a lot of mistakes, and he gets the better of Deandre Ayton with two 3-pointers in a row, then a nice move to the heart of the racket. At his side, Jeremy Sochan is everywhere. Like in this crazy sequence, where he takes three offensive rebounds in a row, and finally, it's Zach Collins who finishes with the dunk. At the break, the Spurs are in front (62-57), and Wemby is already at 18 points, 7 rebounds on 6 of 11 shots.
The rest will be less glorious, and the Frenchman will leave the spotlight to Sochan. His shooting mechanics are slow but he's in for a big night, and his duo with Devin Vassell will bring the Blazers to their knees. The two are easily found, and they alternate between 3-pointers and mid-range shots to take a 13-point lead (81-68). Gregg Popovich can leave “Wemby” on the bench, and the only Frenchman to score in this quarter is Rayan Rupert to limit the damage (88-78).
We find Wembanyama, at 3-points, to give a 16-point lead (16 points ahead). It will be his only basket of the second half, and it is Sochan who drives the point home with a superb coast-to-coast where he crushes the entire Blazers defense. Simons' efforts were not enough, and the Spurs won 116-110.
What you must remember
– Waiting for the “Rodeo Road Trip”. Winners of the Blazers, the Spurs are on a series of seven matches in a row at home, with the receptions of the Wolves, the Wizards and the Pelicans. Then, they will spend almost a month on the road since they will no longer play in front of their audience between February 4 and March 1!
– Sochan unleashed. Freed from the responsibilities of leading, Jeremy Sochan can rediscover his instincts as an all-around player. It's difficult to find a position for him, but he is active and enterprising. And when he crashes 3-pointers like last night, it changes a lot of things in the Spurs game.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
