San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama on Thursday released years of frustration for this storied franchise with a fiery scream after the Spurs held on to beat the Miami Heat.
San Antonio defeated Miami 107-101 and set a franchise record by opening the season 5-0.
Winning five straight holds more than historical significance for this youthful roster. It is proof the Spurs are trending in the right direction after years of futility.
Photo: AFP
“Tired of losing,” said San Antonio guard Devin Vassell, who is in his sixth season. “I’ve been here for a long time and it’s been a journey. I can say that, but just tired of losing.”
The fatigue is understandable.
San Antonio established a record for futility by losing 16 straight in 2023 and then exceeded it the following season with 18 consecutive losses. The Spurs lost at least five straight on 11 occasions over the past three seasons with a 78-168 record during that span.
It was haunting for a franchise that had won five NBA championships, matched a league record with 22 straight post-season appearances and had 21 winning streaks of 10-plus games during its 53-year history in San Antonio.
Yet as successful as the Spurs had been, they never opened a season with five straight victories until Thursday.
Now that franchise record belongs to a roster led by a 21-year-old center from France and nine other players 25 or younger who have never won 35 games in a season.
“Feels good to be winning,” said Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, in his seventh season. “Best feeling in the world.”
So, Wembanyama’s scream after beating Miami was as much an exorcism as it was a celebration.
“I was thinking about the 5-0 record, the Spurs history, and I was just proud being a Spur in that moment,” Wembanyama said.
That the Spurs blew a 15-point lead against the Heat and trailed 91-90 with 6 minutes, 44 seconds remaining only made their record-setting victory sweeter.
“We didn’t get those five wins randomly,” Wembanyama said. “We worked for it. We started the season strong and we keep that streak going for as long as possible. It’s good to see results because we could be playing good and still not getting as many wins as we wish, but it’s good to have results and it’s pushing us.”
Miami center Bam Adebayo made things especially difficult for Wembanyama.
Adebayo had 31 points and 10 rebounds while battling Wembanyama on both ends.
Wembanyama finished 10 for 23 from the field while playing 40 minutes.
“Thing is making him take uncomfortable shots, getting him out of his rhythm and doing that as a collective unit,” Adebayo said. “It wasn’t just me guarding him. Andrew Wiggins had some great flybys when he was shooting the ball from behind where he couldn’t see. All that matters to make somebody miss.”
Miami opened the fourth quarter on a 17-1 run, but San Antonio closed the game on an 8-3 run to preserve their winning streak.
“The Spurs made more plays down the stretch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was a heck of a game in those last three minutes.”
As he rose from the court after a hard foul by Wiggins with 14.6 seconds remaining, Wembanyama urged the sellout crowd to rise and celebrate.
“It’s the exclamation point,” Wembanyama said.
Elsewhere, the Bucks beat the Warriors 120-110, the Thunder whipped the Wizards 127-108 and the Magic swatted aside the Hornets 123-107.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
RSS