SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama needed a fresh start after two frustrating losses so he decided to let it all go — his hair, that is.
Sporting a freshly shaved head courtesy of a teammate, Wembanyama overcame an injury scare to score 22 points and grab 10 rebounds Thursday night as San Antonio routed Milwaukee 119-101 to snap a two-game skid.
Wembanyama exited early in the first quarter after banging knees with Giannis
Antetokounmpo but returned to even his career record against the Bucks center after four games.
It was a welcome change for Wembanyama and the Spurs after blowing a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter in falling 104-103 at Minnesota on Sunday followed by a 119-98 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
San Antonio forward Keldon Johnson deserves some credit for the change in fortunes as well as Wembanyama’s new style.
“I have been having this (shaving his head) in the back of my head for a little bit, and the fact that (Keldon) wanted to do it as well, it just convinced me,” Wembanyama said. “But I felt like we had to lock in real quick because we had been losing a little bit.”
The idea for new look began last week when Johnson announced he was planning to shave his head and tried to convince his teammates to join him.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle wasn’t about to shave his dreadlock high-top fade.
“They knew not to ask me,” Castle said. “I don’t got much for that one. It’s not going to happen.”
Not surprisingly, the young man who spent 10 days training with the Shaolin monks in Zhengzhou, China, this summer and played chess in Washington Square Park in New York City on a whim two years ago was all in.
Wembanyama opted to have Johnson shave his head Wednesday night rather than go to a professional barber.
“I mean, what can go wrong if the plan is to cut it all off,” Wembanyama said, chuckling.
Johnson is rarely at a standstill on the court or on the bench, but he reined in his energy while clipping Wembanyama.
“It took me a good little minute,” Johnson said. “I was trying to be cautious because he got hit (on the head against Oklahoma City). He had a knot on his head. So, I was trying to make sure everything’s smooth. Take my time. You know what I’m saying? I had to fade it up a little bit at first. Then I gave him a little bowl cut and we just went from there.”
Wembanyama returned the favor with the same precision he had in making 5 of 6 3-pointers on Thursday.
“He did good,” Johnson said. “He was quick with it. No lie. Vic probably took like three minutes. Boom, boom, boom, knocking down. Boom. I’m like, wow.”
The bald head represented a new start and it also brought a turn of fortune after a series of injuries for the 7-foot-4 center from France.
Wembanyama dropped to the court after making knee-to-knee contact with Antetokounmpo’s left leg under the Bucks basket with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court in pain for a few seconds before rising and hobbling unassisted in a half sprint toward the locker room.
The scene was eerily similar to Wembanyama limping off the court Dec. 31 after hyperextending his left knee in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks. He returned the bench to watch the closing minutes on New Year’s Eve but would miss the next two games.
On Thursday, Wembanyama returned to the bench at the close of the first quarter Thursday, but this time he went back on the court to start the second quarter.
“I did not think it was serious because it was just like a knee to knee,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve had this dozens of times, but never against a guy like this. So, that was a lot more than usual, but it’s thankfully a very benign thing.”
Wembanyama had an immediate impact that left the sellout crowd at the Frost Bank Center in awe like Johnson was after his trim.
Wembanyama opened with a reverse, two-handed push shot off the backboard off a high entry pass from Harrison Barnes.
Wembanyama added two rebounds, a block and back-to-back 3-pointers in a 42-second span, including banking in a 25-footer from the top of the key midway through the second quarter.
Wembanyama had 11 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot while playing 12 minutes, 27 seconds in the second quarter.
He did not play in the fourth quarter as the Spurs lead ballooned to 37 points late in the third.
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