Victor Wembanyama had a ridiculous performance as the San Antonio Spurs took down the Washington Wizards 139-130 at the Frost Bank Center. Wembanyama had a career-high 50 points in addition to six rebounds and three blocks. He was 18-for-29 from the field and 8-for-16 from three. Devin Vassell added 17 points off the bench as the Spurs improved to 6-and-6 on the season. They have won back-to-back games and three of their last four. Jordan Poole had a team-high 42 points and six threes for the Wizards in the defeat. Washington is 2-and-8 and has not beaten any team other than the Atlanta Hawks this season.
SPURS POSTGAME QUOTES
Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson
(On sustaining the late lead…)
“We kept scoring. I thought the defense in the third quarter, middle to the end, was kind of the bright spot. They made some shots tonight, so they get some credit, but we had some lack of attention to detail and consistency on the defensive end. Three 30-point quarters, fourth quarter [we scored] 39 points, so this is something we would sure up. We didn't turn it over tonight, but I felt like sometimes our attention was too preoccupied with one end of the floor that being the wrong end.”
(On the ball movement tonight…)
“Ball movement was great. Offense was great. Percentages reflect that balanced effort. Obviously, [Victor Wembanyama] got it going, but a lot of guys played a part in the offense. It was really good.”
Spurs Forward Victor Wembanyama
(On a career night…)
“My first thought is that eventually I want the rest of our performances to overshadow this one. I want to make it so that in the future this is just another [game].”
(On his mindset going into the game…)
“The truth is game after game we try to fix mistakes. We’re trying to be more assertive on the court. It’s an emphasis I put on my game, too. It’s getting started early. It’s the byproduct of trying to get in games quicker, trying to get in games stronger … Some days you feel good and some days you feel bad and have great games. It’s more like a minute-to-minute effort.”
(On how it felt becoming a part of the 50-point club…)
“It’s definitely a big milestone. It’s kind of a private club. I don’t know how many players are in it but it’s certainly something I’m proud of.”
Spurs Forward Julian Champagnie
(On what he thinks about Victor Wembanyama’s 50-point game…)
“The big fella. That’s not where it’s going to be every night, but when he comes out with that mindset, man, it’s hard to deal with that. Big praise to him. Big shout out to him. He’s working on his game. He takes everything personal. I don’t know what it was [today], but he took something personal. He went out there and hooped. He didn’t bow his head. I think there was times when he missed five in a row and it was next shot, next shot, next shot. That’s what we want from him. If he had 50 every game, go ahead. Have 50 every game. He came in tonight and he definitely did his thing, so we’re super proud of him.”
(On Victor Wembanyama shooting a high volume of three-pointers…)
“It’s the same for everybody, but especially for him. We want him to shoot those shots. [He’s] obviously a special, special player. It’s not always going to be by the paint for him. Teams are going to play him differently. Tonight was the three. He’s not going to post up [Jonas] Valanciunas the whole game. That’s a big body. 8-for-16. That’s what, 50%? Yeah, we want him to keep shooting them. If it’s 1-for-16 or 8-for-16 or 16-for-16, keep shooting them, because he’ll get them. He’s 7’5, so there’s really no close out that’s going to get to him. So, keep shooting them.”
WIZARDS POSTGAME QUOTES
Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe
(On his overall thoughts…)
“Credit to the Spurs. They played a great game. They made some tough shots, but again, one thing I’ve talked about with our group is our resiliency and our ability to fight back. We did not start off the game well. We answered the bell, we came back. We didn’t start the third quarter well again, they made a run. They made a run in the fourth and then we cut it down to the end. Good progress from our team. No moral victories for us but growth, which is what we’re looking for. Getting ourselves into tight game situations, learning how to play in those. I thought our offense was back to what we wanted to play with. A fast pace, getting the ball up and down the court, paint touches, kick-out threes, but [the Spurs] made some tough shots tonight. So, credit to them.”
(On the defense late in the game…)
“We got stops. When we get stops and we can rebound, you can see the pace for how we want to play. It’s hard to guard, because we can attack on multiple things, we have multiple ball handlers. The key is the stops. That’s what you got to have consistently throughout the game. It’s something we got to keep getting better at. But when we get stops, we’re hard to guard because we can play, we can pass and we can shoot. That’s how we got that run, it started with our defense.”
Wizards Center Jonas Valanciunas
(On the spark he provided in the first half…)
“I got to do that all the time. We need some energy. We are a young group. That drives us.”
(On leading by example…)
“I’m not a heavy talker. I got to do it on the court, I got to do it in practice. I’ll keep doing that until I can’t.”
(On if he has ever played against anyone like Wembanyama in his career…)
“Tough one. I don’t know, probably not. Who does everything at a high level? Those shots, the three-point shots, we did everything to take that away but he still managed to make some.”