Victor Wembanyama Overcomes Brutal Shooting Night With Clutch Defense to Keep Spurs’ Win Streak Alive

Victor Wembanyama did not have a good night shooting the ball on Wednesday against the Raptors in Toronto.
The Spurs superstar went 3-for-12 from the field, including 1-for-6 from deep, to total only 12 points—well below his season average of 24.2 points per night and his worst game of the year in terms of made field goals. The rest of his San Antonio teammates struggled to a similar degree against an elite Raptors defense and were down by 15 late in the third quarter. A loss seemed all but fated headed into the final frame; few teams can dig themselves out of a hole like that when their star player is having an off night against a good opponent.
But the Spurs came roaring back anyhow, beating Toronto 110–107 to capture their 42nd win of the year. Wembanyama was a big part of that in the fourth quarter despite only scoring three points, as he dominated on the defensive end to push the team’s win streak to 10 straight.
The Defensive Player of the Year front-runner recorded three blocks in the fourth quarter. His first perfectly demonstrated the ridiculous nature of his frame, as he didn’t even bother to jump to block rookie Collin Murray-Boyles’s layup attempt. The casual dominance, as always, is eye-popping.
Wemby blocked him without jumping 😳 pic.twitter.com/VuSy6Oizrd
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 26, 2026
A few minutes later Wemby recorded his second block by swatting a three-pointer from fellow DPOY contender Scottie Barnes. But the tall Frenchman saved his best for last.
Over the last few minutes of the game the Spurs took the lead, and in the final 60 seconds enjoyed a four-point edge over the Raptors.
With about 50 seconds left Barnes ripped the ball away from a driving De’Aaron Fox in a tremendous defensive play. He sprinted up the floor and found a sprinting Brandon Ingram, who then executed a pretty slick no-look bounce pass to Jakob Poeltl as the center drove the basket. Wembanyama had jumped up to defend Ingram as he entered the lane, but somehow recovered in time to swat Poeltl for an incredibly clutch rejection. It wound up a massive play that saved San Antonio from its poor free throw shooting in the final frame.
First, Barnes picks Fox clean but holy crap this block from Wemby is INSANE! pic.twitter.com/c20c1GEwST
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) February 26, 2026
Wembanyama’s absurd length means he’ll always be impacting the game to some degree; as long as he’s on the court he changes the geometry for everybody out there. The angles the offense has to attack San Antonio’s defense are much different than against other opponents. But on Wednesday night his presence was loud even though he suffered through his worst night from the field all season long. Wembanyama finished the game with five blocks.
No fly zone established.🚫 pic.twitter.com/HZ95M0G6cB
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 26, 2026
As for his poor form offensively, Wembanyama said after the game a lack of sleep was a hindrance and he needs to do a “better job” on the preparation front.
“I need to do a better job getting my treatment in, getting more sleep,” the superstar said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “I couldn't sleep last night. Yeah, I wasn't in shape today.”
He certainly wasn’t in shape offensively, but he more than made up for it on the other end. A remarkable night of contrasts for the young star.
Wembanyama and the Spurs will take the floor again on Thursday against the Nets as they try to push their win streak to 11 games.
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Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.
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