Victor Wembanyama’s locker room message is starting to haunt Anthony Edwards & Co
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Victor Wembanyama’s locker room message is starting to haunt Anthony Edwards & Co originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs secured a 115-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Friday. The win gave the Spurs a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series and also kept San Antonio undefeated on the road this postseason.
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Despite the pressure of a tight game, Wembanyama never appeared surprised by the outcome. He has remained extremely confident in the Spurs’ ability throughout the playoffs.
Following the team’s Game 1 loss, Wembanyama was seen laughing with Castle in the locker room. When later asked about the moment, Wembanyama said, according to Mike Greenberg:
“Because we just played as bad as we can possibly play and we still should have won.”
Even after being limited by foul trouble and picking up his fifth foul in Game 3, Wembanyama continued to attack aggressively. He delivered the dagger late in the game with a clutch three-pointer that stretched the Spurs’ lead to six, then followed it up with another key rebound on the next possession.
Wembanyama finished the game with 39 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocked shots while shooting 13-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. This is only his first NBA postseason and he has appeared in just seven playoff games so far, Wembanyama is already building an incredible playoff resume.
The only other players in NBA history to record at least 35 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks in a playoff game are legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal. Wembanyama is now in the list to accomplish the feat.
Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards put up a strong individual effort with 32 points (12-of-26 FG), 14 rebounds, and six assists in 41 minutes, but he struggled with efficiency, particularly from three-point range (3-of-9). Despite Edwards carrying much of the offensive load for Minnesota, the Timberwolves couldn’t overcome Wembanyama’s dominance and the Spurs’ balanced attack.
At this stage of the series, it is hard to argue against the Spurs having the best player on the court, and they now hold the series lead to prove it. Both teams will return to action for Game 4 on Sunday evening in Minneapolis.
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