Wembanyama overcomes illness, injury in historic outing as Spurs top Mavs for sixth straight win
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama was battling a virus, rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter and does not believe he is playing his best. All of which made the San Antonio Spurs star's historic outing against the Dallas Mavericks even that more astounding.
After establishing a league milestone in the first half, Wembanyama finished with career highs of 52 points and 24 rebounds along with eight blocks to lead the Spurs past the Mavericks 112-111 on Wednesday night.
Wembanyama had 29 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the first half to become the first player since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in 1996-1997 with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half.
"He’s Superman,” Spurs point guard Dylan Harper said. "I mean, he rolls his ankle and pops right up and acts like nothing happened. I’ve never seen nothing like that, but that’s just a testament to how he takes care of his body, how he focuses on his mobility, treatment, all that. So he’s able to do things like that.”
San Antonio was plus-23 when Wembanyama was on the court. The 7-foot-4 center from France was 16 for 28 from the field, including seven dunks, but 1 for 8 on 3-pointers.
"I can still do more,” Wembanyama said. "I mean, my shots weren’t falling tonight and that forces me into a style of play that is exhausting. I can do it. I mean the proof is here. I can do it, but I can be much better if my shots fall. I know it’s just a matter of time.”
Still, three days after being named the Western Conference Player of the Week, Wembanyama presented a strong case for a repeat.
"I hope so,” Wembanyama said. "The goal is to get it every week.”
The Spurs have won six straight and swept a three-game homestand. San Antonio has not lost since dropping the season's first two games to Oklahoma City and Houston.
Wembanyama has averaged 32.5 points during the streak despite being under the weather with a virus.
"I haven’t been feeling great lately,” Wembanyama said. "I’ve been sick for a while and today I felt like I got my legs back. So it should be more like this, more often.”
He certainly looked spry to open the game.
Wembanyama scored 10 of San Antonio's first 12 points, powering down two dunks and draining all six free-throw attempts. He closed the first quarter with 15 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.
After capturing his ninth rebound, Wembanyama dribbled behind his back at Dallas’ 3-point line to avoid Walter Clayton Jr., drove between two defenders for a one-handed dunk and then stood in the paint screaming in celebration.
"He was making an impact for his team," said Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who missed a 15-footer with three seconds remaining. "You can see his aggression has been raising over the past few games.”
The onslaught continued in the second quarter.
Wembanyama had three blocks in 13 seconds on the same possession, sending shots by Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington flying out of bounds before his third was captured by De’Aaron Fox with 3:38 remaining in the first half.
Wembanyama rolled his ankle after stepping on Clayton's foot, exiting with 9:11 remaining in the game. He spent the next several minutes stretching his foot and ankle on the bench before returning with 6:05 remaining.
"I mean the moment that stands out for some reason. I don’t have any agenda I want to say, but it’s when I rolled my ankle,” Wembanyama said.
The Spurs certainly needed their All-Star in the final minutes.
Wembanyama had two putbacks in the final 2:39. He missed his first three free throws in the final 2:10, but made one with 24 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
