Victor Wembanyama stepped up like a superstar, dominating in the moment the Spurs needed him most

· Yahoo Sports

This is what superstars do.

Visit playerbros.org for more information.

This is what the best player on the planet does.

In a showdown of titans, San Antonio is tied 2-2 with defending champion Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals because, for two games, Victor Wembanyama took over. He dropped 41 in the dramatic Game 1 double-overtime win on the road. However, it was in Game 4 — a must-win game for the Spurs, they couldn't afford to go 3-1 down — where he played maybe his best game.

“I think our competitive response all year has been pretty good and he’s been at the forefront of that more than not,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And I think tonight he felt, not speaking for him, but from my perspective and obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways.”

Wembanyama hadn't been bad in Games 2 and 3. For example, in Game 3 he had 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting and was +4. However, the Spurs had been able to use Isaiah Hartenstein's physicality to push Wemby away from the rim — he had just four shots in the restricted area, six in the paint — and out on the perimeter.

Sunday night, we saw an aggressive Wembanyama who set the tone early (11 first-quarter points) and went hard to the rim — he shot 7-of-10 in the restricted area in Game 4 and took a dozen shots in the paint. When he's that close to the basket, there is nothing any player in the league can do. Especially when he's also 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Johnson also modified his team's defensive schemes in a way that let Wembanyama hang closer to the rim — where he is a force unlike anyone in the league — and the results were dramatic. In Game 3, the Thunder shot 11-of-15 in the restricted area and 21-of-32 in the paint overall. In Game 4, the Thunder still tried to attack and get downhill, but shot 48.3% in the restricted area and were 18-of-41 (43.9%) overall in the paint. Look at the Spurs shot chart.

NBA.com

After the ugly Game 3 loss at home, Spurs legendary former coach (now front office person) Gregg Popovich appeared in the locker room postgame — the first time he had done so all year, according to De'Aaron Fox in a postgame interview on NBC. Popovich's message was simple: That's not Spurs basketball.

“He saw it. We all saw it," Fox said. "We all felt it."

Wembanyama felt it and did what all the greats do — he took that personally. He put the team on his shoulders. He finished Game 4 with 33 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, but the stats don't tell the story of the tone Wembanyama set. Or the one he continues to set.

“We all have high standards and I know I have a lot of responsibilities, but I’m here for it,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, it was better today. It wasn’t perfect...

“The series is far from over. We’ve got six more wins before we can rest.”

Read full story at source