Wembanyama ready – Victor Wembanyama returns to familiar pressure as the Spurs head into Game 4 in San Antonio down 2-1 after a 123-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Wembanyama scored 26 points in 39 minutes but pointed to what still needs to improve: making teammates bette
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama has seen playoffs up close only in practice so far. Now, trailing for the first time since the Spurs’ return to life in this postseason, he’s walking straight into the part of his NBA education that doesn’t let you hide.
The Spurs are down 2-1 in the Western Conference finals after falling 123-108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The result followed San Antonio’s second straight loss after it had won Game 1 in a double-overtime classic.
When Game 3 ended, Wembanyama put the moment into plain words.
“It’s my first playoffs. It was the first playoffs for many of us,” he said. “Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It is to be expected. But now, we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
That mindset is heading into Game 4 in San Antonio on Sunday night, where the Spurs will have to find something different fast. Wembanyama’s own scoring was again a bright spot: 26 points in 39 minutes. San Antonio outscored the Thunder by four points during that span.
The margin swung in the other nine minutes. Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio by 19, and that shift is what turned a solid individual night into a team defeat.
Even with the scoreboard working in his favor, Wembanyama was quick to argue with himself. He finished with only four rebounds and three assists.
“I have trouble making my teammates better right now,” Wembanyama said. “I should do better. My shooting splits aren’t terrible. I need to be more of a team player.”
Pressed on what “team player” means, he didn’t talk in vague terms.
“Facilitate better, rebound the ball better,” he said. “Push their defence a little bit more, to fight further and see how much they’re willing to help off of my teammates and feed them.”
Across the three games, Wembanyama is averaging 29.3 points and 15 rebounds. But against the defending champions, San Antonio needs more than a star’s averages to survive the tightening margins of a series.
The tension around Friday’s game is hard to ignore: the Spurs started with a 15-0 run, then were outscored by 30 for the rest of the way. Wembanyama framed Saturday’s work as an answer-seeking session aimed at fixing those moments when the rhythm slips.
“I feel like each and every one of us has got to be better,” he said. “As a team, as an organization, there’s a lot of new experiences. We’re just going to have to find the answers.”
NBA Spurs Thunder Victor Wembanyama Game 4 Western Conference finals Oklahoma City Thunder San Antonio Spurs playoffs