Victor Wembanyama dazzles in Spurs’ close win over the Celtics

The Spurs did not play well in their visit to the surprising Celtics, but managed to escape Boston with an unlikely win. Sometimes, having the best player on the floor is all it takes, and Victor Wembanyama

proved it by dominating on both ends to lead San Antonio to an unexpected 100-95 victory in what was a chess match of a game until the end.

In Luke Kornet’s return to Boston, the big man was arguably the best offensive player to start the game, thanks to his screens and gravity rolling to the rim. While he should be commended for that, the fact that he stood out meant that the engines of the Spurs’ attack were struggling. The guards made some poor decisions that led to turnovers, which the Celtics converted into points, or fell for the trap of setting up non-shooters who were intentionally left open. On the other end, there was no answer for Jaylen Brown, who managed to both score and also find teammates as San Antonio doubled him or loaded up aggressively on him. With the paint packed, Victor Wembanyama faded into the role of a floor spacer, but he did make a difference on defense, leading to a low-scoring opening frame that ended with the home team up just five.

Some of the same issues that limited the Spurs’ effectiveness on offense in the first quarter continued to hurt them in the second. They settled for too many threes, and the wrong guys were taking them. Derrick White caught fire for the Celtics, who feasted on drives while Wembanyama rested. Mitch Johnson tried out a 2-1-2 zone with Wemby on the middle that looked good for a while, but Boston eventually figured it out. The Alien had some good moments, but not much was going right for San Antonio. It was surprising to see them head into the break down just five. The only reason they pulled that off was the effort level they played with, especially after a timeout in which Wemby checked out. Offensive rebounds, some trips to the line, and early offense as the guards pushed the pace helped make up for a lack of execution that was hard to get away with against a smart defensive team.

Wembanyama’s importance was clear in the first half, but it became even more obvious that he was the key to getting San Antonio the win in the last 24 minutes. The rest of the team continued to play hard to start the third, but the game completely changed when the big man checked back in. He was everywhere on defense and provided a failsafe for an offense that never clicked on Saturday. Mitch Johnson also deserves credit for making necessary adjustments, like going away from Jeremy Sochan and simplifying the defense to feature Wembanyama always as the low man, ready to help on drives. The strategy has the downside of leaving shooters open and the Celtics took advantage of it at times, making the visitors pay for overhelping. Even then, the Spurs would have probably won the frame for more than three points if not for the return of turnovers and poor decision-making.

A game in which the Celtics largely played better and arguably should have won handily, headed into the final quarter with Boston only up two. Through the play of their superstar and the grit of guys like Keldon Johnson and De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs gave themselves a chance to steal the win, and they made the most of it. It wasn’t always pleasing to watch, and there were plenty of mistakes for the next film section, but they survived onslaughts of three-pointers and found ways to give Wembanyama enough rest to have him ready to close the game out. Then Johnson made the last great adjustment by playing a two-center lineup late that forced Joe Mazzulla to match it by taking a shooter off the floor. A couple of pretty fadeaways from Wemby, some hustle plays from the role players and some timely stops led to San Antonio’s 27th win of the season, on a night in which a loss at times seemed inevitable.

Game notes

The stat line (21 points, six rebounds, three blocks) doesn’t come close to reflecting Wembanyama’s impact in the game. It wasn’t a perfect night by him by any means, but he hit shots when he had to and made a Celtics team that normally doesn’t venture much to the paint terrified to go inside against him, winning the few times he was challenged.
Wemby is the main reason the Spurs won, but Keldon Johnson and De’Aaron Fox deserve plenty of praise for picking up the scoring slack on a night in which most of their teammates just couldn’t get shots to fall. When their outside shot failed them, they tried to get buckets inside and brought plenty of energy. A combined 39 points and 19 rebounds for two guys who stepped up and played an essential part in the win.
On the other side of that coin, it was a rough night for the rookie guards and the designated shooters. Castle and Harper combined for five buckets in 23 attempts and turned the ball over twice each. They both guarded Jaylen Brown for stretches and were physical, so it wasn’t all bad. As for Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes, three three-pointers in 13 attempts just isn’t good enough. Champagnie was great on the boards and they both dished out three assists each, but they are on the court to shoot and have struggled too often lately. Devin Vassell is missed.
The Celtics took just four free throws the entire game, to the Spurs’ 20. San Antonio was the more aggressive of the two teams, but the discrepancy in trips to the line is notable. Had Boston gotten a better whistle, the outcome could have been different.
There were a lot of great strategic decisions and adjustments by the two coaches that worked, at least for a stretch. One decision from each that didn’t pan out at all? Mazzulla started rookie Hugo Gonzalez and tried to have his defensive ace, Jordan Walsh, match Wembanyama’s minutes and defend him. Wemby scored over the smaller Walsh, and the Spurs ignored him when he was on the perimeter on the other end. As for Johnson, there seemed to be no plan to get Sochan involved on offense during his short first-half stint. He stood in the corner, was promptly ignored, and the spacing suffered. He didn’t play in the second half.