Victor Wembanyama sinks outrageous half court buzzer-beater to give Spurs big halftime lead
Updated . First published at
Victor Wembanyama drained a buzzer-beater from half court as the fired-up San Antonio Spurs got square in the Western Conference Finals (watch the video in the player above).
The freakishly talented 22-year-old sent the home crowd into raptures with the successful heave, sending the Spurs into the halftime locker room with a 50-38 advantage over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the defending champion Thunder leading the best-of-seven series 2-1, Wembanyama put the Spurs on his slender back with 22 first half points - and finished with 33 in a crucial game that turned into a 103-82 rout.
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Victor Wembanyama is congratulated by Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle. Getty
The 227cm Frenchman also had eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks on Monday (AEST).
The Thunder - who dominated game three - were again without All-Star Jalen Williams, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Game five is in Oklahoma City on Wednesday (AEST).
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Getty
"We're not surprised. We just had to figure it out, find the answers for ourselves," Wembanyama said.
"A lot of film (study). I think all of us did pretty much as much film in the last 24 to 48 hours as is possible."
The Spurs are now 6-3 against the Thunder this season.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs hits a buzzer beater three point shot. NBAE via Getty Images
De'Aaron Fox had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for San Antonio, who have not lost three consecutive games all season.
Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell added 13 points each.
Two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just 19 points on 6/15 shooting for the Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts during the second quarter. Getty
Wembanyama took Oklahoma City's 123-108 victory in game three personally, saying that he needed to be better to make his teammates better.
He was monumentally better in game four - and so was San Antonio.
The Spurs limited the Thunder to 33 per cent shooting from the field, including an anaemic 6/33 on three-pointers (18 per cent).
After being outscored 76-23 in bench points in game three, San Antonio's reserves scored 30 points while limiting Oklahoma City to 34.
The Spurs had another hot start in game four after opening the previous game on a 15-0 run.
But unlike Saturday's (AEST) lopsided loss, the Spurs never relinquished that lead.
After blocking Jared McCain's layup under the rim, Vassell tossed an alley-oop pass to Wembanyama for a dunk as part of 16-0 run that gave the Spurs an early 23-8 lead.
San Antonio had an assist on all 10 field goals in the first quarter.
San Antonio held Oklahoma City to 38 points in the first half, tied for their second-lowest half in the past four regular and postseasons.
The Thunder are 2-9 when they score less than 40 points in any half over the last five seasons.
Oklahoma City's franchise low is 65 points in a playoff loss to Memphis in 2014, and their second-fewest points had been 85 against San Antonio in the same year.
On the other side of the bracket, the New York Knicks are on the cusp of the NBA Finals, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks' last Finals appearance was in 1999 when they made a historic run as the No.8 seed but lost the series 4-1 to the Spurs.
The Knicks last won the championship in 1973.
- with AP
