NBA Rookies: Victor Wembanyama Finds 12th Win of the Season against Chet Holmgren and Oklahoma City
On Thursday night, Oklahoma City entered as one of the hottest teams in the league.
With an 8-2 record and boasting the highest point-per-game total in the league in February, a seven-game win streak seemed to be on the horizon as Chet Holmgren and the Thunder traveled down to San Antonio. This would've been their largest win streak on the season, cracking the team's inability to string together more than six straight victories.
And if you'd look back at the previous matchups in the series, it looked like Oklahoma City might have rolled into it's nationally televised game versus the Phoenix Suns on Sunday with another win under its belt.
Victor Wembanyama and his squad had a chip on their shoulder, though. The +62 combined point differential for the Thunder between its first two wins over the Spurs didn't tell the whole story. It actually blinded it.
San Antonio's scoring barrage on Thursday evening ended up proving to be too much for Oklahoma City to handle. There was no lid to the basket, and it seemed to be two times bigger. 19 threes on 48.7%, 52.7% from the field and countless baskets as the shot clock wound down, the Spurs were undoubtedly impressive versus the second-ranked team in the Western Conference.
Their 19 threes tied a season-high and easily cleared its most efficient 3-point shooting night this season – something that hasn't come easy for the team that's dead last in 3-point percentage.
And of course, the highlighted Wemby-Holmgren matchup continues to live up to the heights placed on it. A 23-point, seven-rebound, five-assist and one-block outing from Holmgren was one-upped by Wembanyama's 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks, sort of embodying the marginal yet also stark difference between these two rookies.
Of his 28 points, 15 of them came from 3-point distance, comprising over 25% of the team's made threes. Off the dribble, catch and shoot, 3-feet past the arc, he flashed his 3-point arsenal all over this game – with the most emphatic one coming down the stretch, as he hit a trey to extend the Spurs lead to nine with just over three minutes left to play. The Frost Bank Center erupted at that point, and the night was all in San Antonio's favor.
These two competing against each other will never get old. Outside of media and the NBA attempting to force an inorganic rivalry on two never-before-seen talents, there seems to be some authentic animosity sprouting as they see each other more and more.
With one matchup left on the season, the rookies' last meeting in Oklahoma City will be a contest that could have future implications on the outlook of the rivalry between the two.
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