When the game is on the line, the San Antonio Spurs look for the big Frenchman to deliver in the clutch. Victor Wembanyama has taken over the fourth quarter of games. Wembanyama commanded the floor in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls to deliver the Spurs a victory.
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is no slouch. He stands 6-foot-11 and weights 265 pounds. He is certainly a big individual.
In the fourth quarter of the San Antonio Spurs win over the Bulls Monday, Victor Wembanyama made Vucevic appear small.
The Frenchman hit two 3-point field goals over the outstretched arms of Vucevic and there was nothing he could do about it.
“The best players in the league, they’re going to do what they do,” Vucevic said. “When they get it going, there’s nothing you can do.”
Wembanyama said he opted for the triple on the second effort thinking that things might get too crowded if he tried to drive through the paint at that point in time.
“I guess I chose right,” Wembanyama said.
Vucevic was a mere mortal to Wembanyama in the fourth quarter as Wembanyama did whatever he wanted to ensure the Spurs came back and got the victory. He scored 18 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter. To say Wembanyama is clutch is like saying Mike Tyson was a good boxer.
"He's what, 7-5?" Vucevic said. "There's not much you can do. I'm not sure how much he even sees me."
Wembanyama added 12 rebounds, five blocks and five assists to his tally for the evening as the Spurs won for the first time against Chicago since October 2022.
The Spurs improved to 8-2 on the season. The last time they had reached that mark after 10 games, Wembanyama was 11 years old. The year was 2015.
“He walked that game down possession by possession,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after Wembanyama’s fourth-quarter display. “It was just a really poised, fundamentally sound, professional way to finish it.”
Johnson has a motto that he likes to use about players who know how to perform in clutch moments like Wembanyama seems to do.
“Sometimes,” Johnson said, “it’s about players and not plays.”
Wembanyama has become the Spurs game-closing specialist. However, according to Julian Champagnie, they actually have two.
They also have De'Aaron Fox back from a hamstring injury and he is capable of taking a game over as well. Fox made his season-debut against New Orleans, scoring 24 points including a bucket that sealed the game with 29.4 seconds left.