Victor Wembanyama Scores 20 in 19 Minutes; Spurs Drop Preseason Opener to Thunder
On a night when two of the San Antonio Spurs' projected regular-season starters were out to "general soreness," finding a next man up was crucial for the Silver & Black.
No Keldon Johnson or Jeremy Sochan meant that even more of the Oklahoma City Thunder's defensive attention would likely be focused on 7-4 rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama. And that it was for the first half.
"[Jeremy and Keldon] are just lazy dudes," Gregg Popovich quipped prior to San Antonio's first preseason game of the 2023-24 season. "They have no interest."
Interested or not, the Spurs proved they were more than capable of handling business without Johnson and Sochan, but it didn't quite workout that way.
None other than the French phenom led the charge, but despite his efficient 20-point outing, a second-half offensive slowdown proved to be the downfall of the young team, as it fell 122-121 to the Thunder.
Oct 9, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) with the ball while defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) during the first half at Paycom Center.
© Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Besides Wembanyama, San Antonio found ample success from Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Malaki Branham, who each scored 12 or more to support the rookie, but despite their strong first half, they couldn't keep it going until late in the fourth quarter.
San Antonio got things started with a seven-point run from Tre Jones and Zach Collins, each of which stayed involved early on both ends. From there, the "man of the hour" for San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama, found his groove.
Wembanyama recorded a quick 10 points, including multiple fast-break dunks, and went back and forth with Chet Holmgren, who finished the game with 21 points and nine rebounds — in a battle of the 7-foot rookies.
Together, the pair finished with 24 combined points in the first quarter, and continued their mini-feud in the second quarter, adding eight and seven points, respectively, to finish out their minutes for the night.
A 13-point lead by the Spurs after the first quarter turned into a 19-point lead by the middle of the second quarter, as Wembanyama added a pair of 3s and a spin-post make while Doug McDermott added a pair of deep-shots of his own to give San Antonio forward momentum.
A run by the Thunder threatened to nullify that momentum, however, as Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams led a series of fast-break scores to bring Oklahoma City within six, but despite those efforts, the Spurs took an 81-74 lead at halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Thunder found a spark plug in Davis Bertans, who hit back-to-back 3s to kick off the second-half scoring and bring the Thunder within three.
After a series of back-and-forth scoring, Bertans hit his third and fourth 3-pointers to give the Thunder its first lead since the eight-minute mark of the first quarter.
That back-and-forth continued throughout the third quarter, which featured offensive production from all across each teams' lineups.
Oklahoma City's narrow lead spanned over six minutes of the third quarter, as San Antonio remained within three points of the Thunder before another run led by Isaiah Joe extended the lead to six at the end of the third.
San Antonio never fell completely out of it, but it did have trouble finding rhythm on offense — that was until a late-run gave it a sense of hope. A small run brought them within one point of the Thunder, but a missed 3-pointer from Devonte' Graham with time expiring sealed the deal and gave Oklahoma City the 122-121 victory.
With the loss, the Spurs fall to 1-0 on their preseason campaign, which only sets the stage for Wembanyama and company to bounce back before the regular season.
Next up for the rookie and company is a home test against the Miami Heat on Friday, Oct. 13. Tipoff from San Antonio is scheduled for 7 p.m.
