The San Antonio Spurs raced to an early 15-0 run in the first quarter. But the reigning champions came prepared and went on a 58-36 run of their own by halftime. Victor Wembanyama, who had massive Game 1 and 2, struggled tonight and only had 7 shot attempts with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The young French star took responsibility and vowed to be better for his teammates.

“I feel like I have trouble making my teammates better right now, if that’s what I should do better,” Wemby said after the game. “My shooting splits aren’t terrible. I need to be more of a team player.” Later, he was asked how exactly he could be better for his teammates. “Facilitate better, you know, rebound the ball better, get more uh you know, like push their defense a little bit further and see how much they’re willing to help off of my teammates and feed them.”

Tonight was a drop off in performance as the energy and domination from the current unanimous DPOY were missing. By the third quarter, when he had just 7 shots, he had played 26 minutes at that point. Wemby had just 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Spurs star also struggled to get his shots off and went 2-7 from the field. He ended the night with a respectable 26 points, but only had 15 shots and 4 boards. Nowhere near as active as Game 2, 21 points and 17 rebounds. And way off his explosive Game 1 double OT, where he had 41 points and 24 boards. OKC has done an excellent job on the defence.

ESPN Insights shared how the Thunder have done their best to keep Victor Wembanyama away from the basket. His average FG distance has kept on increasing during the Western Conference Finals. Game 1- 5.4′, Game 2-15.1′, and Game 3-13.3′. That’s why Wemby said he will have to push the OKC players deep and look for better opportunities. He needs to reach a higher level for San Antonio to win this series, especially given the backcourt injury problems.

Before the game, the Spurs received a double blessing as Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) were cleared to play 45 minutes prior to tipoff. Fox was solid with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. But Harper struggled in 17 minutes from the bench, could only contribute 6 points, and was 2-7 from FG and 1-3 from beyond the arc. Both stars were not 100%, and Victor Wembanyama was sad to see his teammates in this condition.

“Yeah, it pains me to see them in pain. I trust that they’re going to be healthy soon and come back, but they should take care of their health. I mean, as always, like we did in game one, we’re going to have them back.” Harper and others must perform from the bench, as it has been the key difference maker in this series.

The bench remains a big problem as Victor Wembanyama wants to find a solution

Before the loss on Friday night, San Antonio went 62-20 during the regular season and did not lose any back-to-back games a single time all year. When they went on a 15-0 run, the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997. But their control slipped, and it was all down to the bench players. Spurs’ starting group had combined for 85 points, Victor Wembanyama finished with 26 points, and was a +4. Fox was a +9 while on the floor. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City starters relied heavily on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who carried them with 36 points.

Luguentz Dort and Ajay Mitchell combined for just 2 points on 1-for-10 shooting, and OKC’s starting frontcourt actually finished with negative plus/minus numbers across the board. It was the Thunder’s second unit that actually established the domination as they outscored the Spurs 76-23. Jared McCain was the headliner with 27 points in just 24 minutes, while Alex Caruso added another huge 15-point spark off the bench.

Speaking about this key difference, Victor Wembanyama had faith in his teammates. “Feel like each and every one of us got to be better. I think it’s just as a team, as an organization, when there’s a lot of uh nuances, we’re just going to have to find the answers.” In Game 2, OKC’s bench would outscore 57-25, and 50-16 in Game 1. So, San Antonio must stop this flow and even find ways so Wemby could attack closer to the basket.