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Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama doesn’t hold back on Desmond Bane after flagrant foul
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- Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama doesn’t hold back on Desmond Bane after flagrant foul
Spurs' Victor Wembanyama doesn't hold back on Desmond Bane after flagrant foul appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Victor Wembanyama might as well have been saying it to the rest of the NBA. In this particular moment, the San Antonio Spurs ' generational talent was talking about Desmond Bane .
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"I know they do that because they don't want to play the game. They don't want to play a basketball game."
It was Wemby's response to a question about the Orlando Magic guard's physicality in the fourth quarter of a 112-103 Spurs victory .
"I don't think I was frustrated," the French phenom continued.
In addition to the defense the Magic's leading scorer for the night played on Wembanyama in that final period, Bane was hit with a flagrant foul for lowering his shoulder into Wemby as the Spurs center was making his way down the court.
"Our job on offense is to make it a basketball game, so that's how we're going to beat them." the 2023 first overall draft pick said.
The Spurs leading scorer for the season paced San Antonio with 25 points in their 33rd win of the year.
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Victor Wembanyama says health is fine
It's no secret that teams want to get physical with Wemby. To this point, it's become the consensus on how to best knock him off his game. It's a reality the 7-foot-5 Spur acknowledges.
"It's not just this game, it's like this every night."
The Phoenix Suns , Minnesota Timberwolves , Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans , among others, have made it a point to rough up Wembanyama. In bumping him off spots, encroaching on his space and hacking every time he touches the ball, each of those teams has beaten San Antonio at least once this season.
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Such activity doesn't bode well for a frame that weighs south of 250 pounds at his height. So far this season, Wemby has suffered different injuries coming off a year that ended last February because of blood clots in his right shoulder.
Prior to the game vs. the Magic, Wembanyama was initially listed as questionable due to left calf soreness. The two-time NBA All-Star selection missed a month from mid November to mid-December with a calf strain. Most recently, he sat out about a week to start the calendar year after hyper-extending his left knee.
When a reporter started with a question about whether one of his injuries might nag him, Wembanyama interrupted by asking, "What injury?"
Told that the question centered on the sore calf, Wemby answered with uncertainty.
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"I don't know. I don't know that it's related to my injury before. Out of caution, it's almost like we're going to consider that it's related."
The Spurs win vs. the Magic capped a day the team started in Charlotte, North Carolina, before a detour took them to Atlanta, Georgia . They arrived in the Alamo City just hours prior to an 8:00 tip-off Central time.
"Knowing all the special conditions, it's been a long-ass day. I mean, we've been awake since, like, 6:00-something am Charlotte time. It's close to midnight now. So yeah, a lot of caution in that report."
It's caution Wembayama's opponents aren't prioritizing.
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