Following his worst career performance, Victor Wembanyama took advantage of the trip to Utah to sign an exceptional performance: a “five-by-five”! With 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 interceptions and 5 blocks, “Wemby” is only the 3rd player in history to sign several “5×5” in his career, and above all he allows the Spurs to impose 106-88 on the Jazz floor.
Arriving late in Salt Lake City, Gregg Popovich's players took the match from the wrong end, with a 9-0 scored by the George-Filipowski duo. “Wemby” is already on two missed 3-point shots… And then, the machine starts, and the Spurs sign an 11-0 with Chris Paul much more aggressive than usual. 11-0 turns into 15-2, and Gregg Popovich can start spinning.
Except that the San Antonio bench remains very average, and Patty Mills catches fire. The Jazz responded with a 13-0 to finish the quarter with an 11-point lead (30-19). Coach Pop' has no choice: he recalls his executives. The Wembanyama-Paul duo only needed three minutes to complete a 13-2 and equalize. The Jazz are counting on Collin Sexton to revive, and the series match continues, and Utah regains an 11-point lead (49-38) thanks to its second knives. At halftime, Chris Paul still managed to limit the damage (53-47).
Wemby waters at 3-points: 4 out of 13!
Returning from the locker room, the Spurs decide to change their defense. A very wide 2-2-1 with “Wemby” in the backline, and the Jazz can no longer do it at all. On the other side of the field, the pick-and-roll between Harrison Barnes and the Frenchman works wonderfully, and San Antonio starts the quarter with a 16-2 lead. In five minutes, the match changed, and the Spurs were eight points ahead (63-55). The Jazz cannot even find good positions, and San Antonio insists with Keldon Johnson to reach the 10 point difference mark (71-61).
Jazz has its legs cut off, and Chris Paul finds in Sandro Mamukelashvili a new friend to widen the gap. In a few possessions, the Spurs came close to 20 points several times (89-71 then 94-75). But the young Spurs remain fragile, and Coach Pop' prefers to leave the Paul-Wemby duo until the end to secure the victory (106-88).
What to remember
– Wemby as “The Dream”. At only 20 years old, Wembanyama becomes the third player in history to accumulate several “five-by-fives” in his career. Only Hakeem Olajuwon (6 times) and Andrei Kirilenko (3) have done better!
– The aggressiveness of Chris Paul. Leader manager for several seasons, CP3 was much more aggressive this evening than during the first four matches. In search of his “pull-up jumper”, Paul put a lot of pressure on the defense, and at the same time offered space to his teammates on the gaps.
– Jazz without a victory. After nine days of the regular season, Utah is the only team not to have won yet… Lauri Markkanen is injured in the back, and the starting five is quite weak with the rookies Filipowski-Williams, and a Clarkson next to his basketball.
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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.
