SAN ANTONIO — As 9.7 seconds ticked away and a sellout crowd at Frost Bank Center gasped in anticipation, Victor Wembanyama surveyed the defense, stepped right and took one dribble before nailing the shot that would clinch the Spurs their first postseason berth since 2019.
Wembanyama buried a go-ahead 17-foot fadeaway over Oso Ighodaro with 1.1 seconds left to lift San Antonio to a 101-100 triumph over the Phoenix Suns. The shot marked Wembanyama’s first go-ahead make in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career, after missing on five previous attempts, according to ESPN Research.
“We know it’s not going to be an open shot most of the time,” Wembanyama said. “In this situation, you want to wait. If you take a shot too early, whether you make or miss it, you’re shooting yourself in the foot because the defense would probably get the rebound and have time or inbound and have time. So, you want to shoot it as close to one or two seconds [remaining]. This way, we have a chance to get an offensive rebound if we miss and if we make [it], they don’t have time.”
Wembanyama finished with a game-high 34 points to go with 12 rebounds and three steals for San Antonio, which became the NBA’s second team to clinch a postseason berth, following Oklahoma City, which clinched Tuesday. The performance was Wembanyama’s 11th 30-point, 10-rebound game of the season, good for the fourth most in the NBA and the most by a Spurs player since 2003-04, when Hall of Famer Tim Duncan put together 13 such outings.
In the scramble to sprint back on defense after the go-ahead bucket, Wembanyama bumped into a fan sitting courtside, who spilled red wine all over Wembanyama’s shorts. As Devin Booker’s final desperation heave fell short for the Suns at the buzzer, Wembanyama untucked his jersey near half court as Dylan Harper walked over to give a playful shove.
“It was hard to take in all the stimulus around me,” said Wembanyama, still tugging at the left leg of his wine-stained shorts. “I had the fans looking at me. I had this guy spill wine on me. There was a lot going on. I didn’t see all my teammates come up for a second, so I felt like I was getting mobbed.”
Still, Wembanyama raised both arms in celebration as the team strolled together to the Spurs’ drum on the court to initiate San Antonio’s postgame victory celebration. As Wembanyama finished stirring up the crowd of 18,648, teammate Keldon Johnson grabbed the microphone to start an MVP chant.
“I didn’t know what I was going to say,” said Johnson, the longest-tenured Spur, drafted 55 days after the team was eliminated from the opening round of the 2019 playoffs. “I just knew we needed to get on the mic. He deserves his flowers. He’s playing at that type of level. He’s been our guy on and off the court. I’ll be the one to go out there, speak out and say what needs to be said. And that’s what needs to be said: ‘Victor Wembanyama, MVP.'”
In a game that featured six lead changes and three ties, San Antonio trailed most of the way after taking an early lead. The Spurs finally tied the score at 70-all with 3:55 left in the third quarter, after playing from behind the entire second quarter.
With 4:50 remaining, Phoenix had already built another 10-point lead when Booker hit a cutting Khaman Maluach for a dunk. From that point, Wembanyama scored seven points and point guard De’Aaron Fox chipped in nine of his 23 points as San Antonio closed on a 16-5 run that spoiled a 24-point night from Suns guard Collin Gillespie that was aided by Booker’s 22-point contribution.
“We were basically down the entire game,” Fox said. “Just us being able to be down six to 10 points the entire game and walk it down in the last couple minutes was great for us.”
San Antonio is 20-2 since Feb. 1, the best mark in the NBA over that span. The Spurs finally ended their longest playoff drought (six seasons) in franchise history. Before this latest bout with futility, San Antonio had never missed the postseason in back-to-back seasons.
“I’m happy for the city, the community and the organization,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “To be a part of that process is rewarding.”
Wembanyama, meanwhile, credited Fox, the first winner of the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award, for anticipating “what the defense would do, so [he] kind of told me what to do” on the go-ahead jumper that won the game.
“Yeah, we had our play drawn up,” Fox said. “We had a clear side, and I asked if he wanted someone in the corner because when you have a clear side, teams tend to tilt. It brings more help. So, he said wanted someone there. So, I’m like, ‘Well, we’re going to put a shooter right there.’ So, we put [Devin Vassell] in the corner just to make sure they don’t help off him. He took his time. He got to a spot. He hit the game winner.”
