Wemby’s return sparks Spurs win over Thunder and into the NBA Cup Finals

SB Nation

The Spurs got good news yesterday that Victor Wembanyama would be returning from a 12-game absence due to a calf strain, and as good as they played without him, going 9-3 in that stretch, he reminded the world

tonight why he’s already one of the best. Despite playing on minutes restrictions and coming off the bench, he helped the Spurs overcome an atrocious start by making the absolute most of his first half minutes to keep them in the game, then settled into his role in the second half as they played much better. After a back-and-fourth second half, the Spurs made the plays they needed to down the stretch to get another clutch win, put an end to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s record-tying start to the season, and vault themselves to the NBA Cup Finals.

When the Spurs weren’t turning the ball over in the first quarter, they had trouble getting much to fall, missing their first 12 threes while the Thunder quickly got the lead out to a double-digit lead. Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson finally hit a couple of threes with two minutes left in the first quarter to briefly cut the lead to six, but they still couldn’t take good enough care of the ball or get enough stops and found themselves down 20-31 after the first 12 minutes.

Wembanyama fnally entered for the first time to start the second quarter and instantly made an impact by tipping in a miss and finding Dylan Harper for a three off an offensive rebound on the next possession. Despite some continued sloppiness, they went on a 9-2 run to get within four with him in, but once he sat after the very brief appearance, the Thunder went right back to getting what they wanted on offense while the Spurs struggled to score, and a 14-2 OKC run had them up 47-31. But again, Wemby’s return for the end of the half changed the dynamic on both ends, and the Spurs ended the half on a 13-0 run to get within three, 46-49. In a staggering case of “box score plus/minus don’t lie”, the Spurs were a +20 with Wemby on the floor and a -23 with him off in the half, and it was plain as day to see.

The teams traded buckets to start the second half, and the Spurs finally got their first lead of the game when De’Aaron Fox got a layup off a Harrison Barnes steal. That was part of a 10-0 run to get the lead out to six, 62-56, forcing a Thunder timeout. This was all without Wemby, and now that his teammates had found a rhythm, he didn’t have to do as much in his third stint on the floor. Both teams traded mini-runs and the lead a few times in the final minutes, with the Spurs up 78-77 at the end of the third off a couple of Fox free throws.

Wemby started the fourth quarter and got another signature block of a Chet Holmgren jumper. They maintained the lead for a while, but the Thunder inevitably went on an 11-3 run midway through the quarter while both Wemby and Fox sat, taking advantage of some more sloppy Spurs turnovers. The teams traded the lead and haymakers multiple times down the stretch, with both teams making highlight worthy shots. The Spurs’ final field goal, an acrobatic Wemby middy over Alex Caruso, gave the Spurs the lead at 102-101 with 2:32 left, and then it became the battle of the free throws.

Two Wemby free throws got the Spurs up 105-101 with just over a minute left, and they held on from there, missing a couple but making enough while fouling the Thunder to prevent any game-tying threes. Jalen Williams purposefully missed his final FT with 1.5 seconds left to give his team a chance to tie the game, but they couldn’t get a shot off, and the Spurs won the dramatic victory, 111-109.

Game Notes

I don’t know if this was a pro-Spurs crowd (as in lots of Spurs fans), a pro-underdog crowd, or just one that wanted to see the Thunder lose, but it felt kind of like a home game, with the cheers much louder for Spurs buckets, boos at the refs when calls didn’t go their way, and MVP chants whenever Wemby was at the free throw line.
It’s hard to explain how insane and instant the game flips were during the first half when Wemby was in vs. out. The Spurs were playing some of their worst ball of the season, unable to make shots inside or out, turning it over, and generally letting the Thunder get what they wanted on offense. Then, when Wemby would enter, his defensive impact was felt on that end, and on the other the Thunder were scrambling amidst what we’ll call controlled chaos by the Spurs offense. You truly had to see it to believe it, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it.
All the noise was around Wemby’s return, in which he scored 22 off the bench, grabbed 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, and rightfully so, but despite the bad start, other Spurs had excellent nights. Fox and Castle both had 22 points while Devin Vassell quietly led the team with 23. Castle’s performance wasn’t exactly “quiet” with some highlight real plays, but he also had 6 turnovers, almost all coming when he’d get stuck in the air and try to throw a crazy pass. Fox and Vassell were more “quiet” as in lacking much flash, but they both hit huge, timely shots and helped keep things under control.
A couple of stats that could have buried the Spurs but they still ended up in their favor was three-point shooting and turnovers. They recovered from their horrific 0-12 start and hit 13-30 from there, and that was despite Barnes going a 0-8. On the other hand, the Thunder hit just 9 threes total. And while the Spurs still ended up with more turnovers, with 19 compared to the Thunder’s 15, they actually conceded one fewer point off them, winning that battle 25-26 to take away one of OKC’s biggest advantages.