LAS VEGAS — Here is how a lot the NBA Cup semifinals towards Oklahoma Metropolis meant to San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama: He grabbed the ball after a missed Thunder shot within the ultimate moments, squeezed it and screamed in delight.
Technically, it was simply one other sport.
It certain did not appear that manner.
Welcome again, Victor. The Spurs are headed to the NBA Cup championship sport towards the New York Knicks, after knocking off the defending NBA champion Thunder 111-109 on Saturday night time within the event semifinals — simply the second loss for OKC in 26 video games this season.
“This isn’t a typical regular-season sport,” Wembanyama mentioned. “We knew if that if we lose, we’re out. And you understand, some persons are constructed for these moments. Some aren’t. However we undoubtedly are.”
The win got here in Wembanyama’s return from a 12-game absence attributable to a left calf pressure. He completed with 22 factors and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes — coming off the bench for the primary time in his NBA profession.
There will not be too many extra instances when he would not begin. Wembanyama questioned aloud after the sport if somebody can win Sixth Man and MVP in the identical season, with an enormous smile throughout his face.
“As quickly as Vic got here in, he had the affect that we would have liked,” the Spurs’ Devin Vassell mentioned.
There have been loads of indicators of emotion within the ultimate minutes from Wembanyama, indicating that this certainly wasn’t simply one other sport.
A fallaway that became a falling-down shot by Wembanyama put the Spurs up by six with 9:49 left. He acquired fouled by Oklahoma Metropolis’s Cason Wallace the subsequent time down the ground in a type of intentional, however not flagrant, don’t-give-up-a-dunk fouls, and flexed his arms towards Wallace after the play.
The Spurs bench roared in delight — once more, not the type of scene usually related to a regular-season contest in December.
“It’s one in all 82, however to your level, there are at all times circumstances and contexts,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson mentioned. “And that doesn’t imply that everyone quantifies them the identical, however I do assume that our guys have been excited in regards to the Cup. I believe our guys are excited to play actually good groups. … If you play the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, you’re getting the league’s greatest. And we’re a aggressive group and we need to proceed to problem ourselves to proceed to get higher. There’s no higher manner to try this however to play the perfect.”
Wembanyama scored within the lane with 2:32 left to place the Spurs up for good, then helped end off the win by going 4 for six from the foul line within the ultimate 78 seconds.
His affect on the sport was rapid. Oklahoma Metropolis led 31-20 after the primary quarter; Wembanyama checked in for the primary time to open the second quarter and all the pieces rapidly modified.
He acquired an offensive rebound and scored on his opening possession. By the tip of his first minute, he had grabbed two extra rebounds and had an help to arrange a 3-pointer. There was one play the place he misplaced his dribble after which despatched his 7-foot-4 body sprawling to the ground to dive on the ball, which he gathered after which handed to Julian Champagnie for one more 3-pointer.
He performed 7:19 of the primary half. In that point, the Spurs outscored the Thunder by 20 factors — 9-2 in his first stint, 15-2 in his second stint, 24-4 mixed. That is proper, a 24-4 margin over a group that had a 24-1 report coming into the night time, outscored groups by a report common final season and are on tempo to smash that report this season.
However these minutes set a brand new tone and gave the Spurs an opportunity. Now, they’re going to be again in Las Vegas on Tuesday with an opportunity at successful the NBA Cup. And Thunder coach Mark Daigneault summed up Wembanyama’s affect with one phrase: “Enormous,” he mentioned.
“Credit score to him and them,” Daigneault mentioned. “I believed for stretches of the sport, they performed rather well with out him, too. I didn’t assume it was remoted to him. I believed that was an awesome group win for them. They gained as a group. A number of their guys performed nicely, however he actually had an affect on the sport.”
Spurs: Play the Knicks on Tuesday night time within the NBA Cup ultimate.
Thunder: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
