The final play of the San Antonio Spurs' 114-113 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night may serve as the most obvious example, but it wasn't the only instance in which the home team didn't rely on super rookie Victor Wembanyama down the stretch. In fact, the top pick in last summer's draft didn't have a single field goal attempt in the final seven minutes and 25 seconds of a contest that went back and forth until the fourth quarter clock struck zeroes.
Spurs guard Devin Vassell finished with a team high 28 points, hitting on half of the 10 three-pointers he attempted. But he who clanked a tough pull-up triple at the final buzzer, missing a wide open Wembanyama rolling to the rim.
ClutchPoints asked point guard Tre Jones about the team's mindset down the stretch and whether the flow of the game determines who has the ball in their hands in crunch-time.
“For sure. And also just knowing who we want making those final plays as well. Looking at matchups, trying to go at a matchup that we like. Putting players in it and keeping players out as well of tougher match-ups and go from there,” Jones answered.
“We continued to get good looks down the stretch and it's just on me to finish that last one,” the fourth-year Spur said, alluding to a miss in the lane with 10 seconds remaining that then allowed Zion Williamson to score a go ahead lay-up in a crowd with just under four seconds left.
Victor Wembanyama held under 20 points in Spurs' last-second loss to Pelicans
Wembanyama's 16 points against the Pelicans marked the first time he scored less than 20 since January 1th, the night he recorded his first NBA triple-double in just 21 minutes of action. Prior to that, a 15-point loss on December 26th to the Utah Jazz was the last time Wemby failed to reach 20.
The Pelicans often guarded the 7-foot-4 phenom with smaller players Friday night.
“That's nothing new. That's been happening all year long. He's getting better and better and getting used to it,” Popovich stated.
Wembanyama's seven assists against New Orleans were the most he's recorded since that triple-double against the Detroit Pistons.
“Yeah, he continues to see the floor very well. They continue to bring bodies. They’re super physical with him, they’re running multiple defenders at him, giving him different defenders throughout the game. He’s not always going through a five man or a four man,” Jones said.
“He's going against smaller guards as well. More versatile guards that are giving him different looks and then they're bringing the bigger doubles. They're giving him a whole lot of looks. I wouldn't say it's new for him, but it's a little bit different than what he's used to. And he's continued to make the right play for our team. He’s continuing to learn as well on the go, on the fly in these moments and continuing to impress.” the Spurs point guard continued.
Wembanyama added 14 rebounds and three blocks for the night.
Offensively, he went 7-for-14 from the field, including misses on all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. But none of them came after Wembanyama missed a nine-foot bank shot with 7:26 still to go in a close game, meaning the Spurs' leading scorer—broadly hailed as the sport's best prospect since LeBron James—didn't get another shot for a team that fell to 10-39 on the season.
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