Fired-up Victor Wembanyama, Spurs face undermanned Warriors
Victor Wembanyama will make a second attempt at his first-ever NBA win in San Francisco when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Shortly after having been proclaimed a serious NBA Most Valuable Player candidate this season, Wembanyama exploded for 37 first-half points and a total of 40 in the Spurs' 136-108 shellacking of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Wembanyama played just 26 minutes in the blowout. No Spur played more than 27 in an energy-conserving effort.
The night began with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson complaining during his pregame press gathering that his team -- with the second-best record in the Western Conference -- had just one player selected for the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
He then set the stage for Wembanyama's dominant performance by attempting to explain what Johnson's perceived snubs of De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle meant in the big picture.
"Nothing to take away from anybody who has been named an All-Star, because they have a lot of great players," Johnson said. "But the only way I can think we are deserving of (only) one All-Star means there must be an awful lot of people that have Victor Wembanyama as one of the front-runners for MVP."
Wembanyama hasn't had much success against the Warriors in his three-year career. He's gone just 1-5 against Golden State, including 1-4 at home.
His lone healthy visit to Golden State occurred in November 2023, when he had 22 points and nine rebounds in a 118-112 loss.
The Spurs and Warriors met twice earlier this season when Golden State visited San Antonio over a three-day stretch. Stephen Curry had 46 points and Jimmy Butler III 28 in a 125-120 Warriors' win in the opener, before Curry went for 49 and Butler for 21 in Golden State's 109-108 victory two nights later.
Wembanyama had a triple-double of 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the opening loss, before being held to 26, 12 and four, respectively, in the rematch.
Neither Curry (sore knee) nor Butler (ACL surgery) will play this time around, and neither will Warriors newcomer Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles), who has been tentatively scheduled to make his Golden State debut next week.
While the Spurs have won five in a row, the Warriors were staring at a seventh loss in their last 10 games before rallying to overtake the Memphis Grizzlies 114-113 at home on Monday night.
Al Horford saved the day for Golden State, twice rebounding his own point-blank misses in the final seconds, the second time shuffling the ball in a crowd to Gui Santos, who dropped in a game-winning layup.
"Al Horford was incredible at both ends of the floor. He kind of took over the game," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said afterward. "You saw him get tied up a couple times for jump balls, scrapping for rebounds. I walked in (the locker room) and he had claw marks all over his arms and neck. It was a physical battle for him. He was the key to the game."
Horford came off the bench in both earlier wins over the Spurs, contributing a total of nine points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and four blocks in 47 minutes.