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Why Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama had fun in loss to Nuggets
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- Why Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama had fun in loss to Nuggets
Why Spurs' Victor Wembanyama had fun in loss to Nuggets appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Victor Wembanyama has not hidden his drive to rank as one of the NBA's best nor his priority to win. So, while an overtime loss to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets stings, the San Antonio Spurs superstar described it another way .
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"I think it was an amazing game. Very fun. One of the most fun games," Wemby admitted. A 136-134 loss in Denver broke the Silver and Black's 11-game winning streak . Like many of their other contests dating back to early February, the Spurs built a double-digit advantage at one point, leading by 13.
"I wish we could have closed it out, and my conclusion of this game is it is good for us. Everything that happened is good for us," Wembyama added.
The loss all but ensured San Antonio will finish with the West's second seed . They clinched that spot last week, but still had a slim shot at the top slot in the conference come the playoffs. Now, the Oklahoma City Thunder would have to lose three of their remaining five regular-season games to fall out of first – a tall task considering they've lost only 16 times through 77 games, and four of those came to the Spurs.
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"It's a real test against a team that's actually playing for something right now," Wembanyama continued of the loss in the Mile High City. "Had a little bit of playoff vibes."
Victor Wembanyama lays out specifics for loss to Nuggets. In winning 27 of their last 30 games, the Spurs have beaten some of the league's best, knocking off the Detroit Pistons twice, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers during the stretch. But very few of those games went down to the wire, much less overtime . It's an experience Wembanyama thinks will benefit his young squad.
"Yeah, for sure. I think the timing of everything's great. There's no better way that we would have learned. There's no better outcome of this game to learn from this," the MVP candidate shared.
Holding on to big leads is an area in which the Spurs have improved as they've gone through the season. They controlled the Nuggets throughout, including a six-point lead with 1:25 to go before De'Aaron Fox fouled Cameron Johnson for what turned into a four-point play.
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"We could have closed it out," Wemby said, "I think we had a good lead one minute 30 seconds in the fourth quarter. These are opportunities to apply details better on both sides of the floor."
NBA champions in 2024, thanks to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray , the Denver Nuggets have featured one of the best offenses in the league for several years. They've beaten the Spurs twice this season, including in mid-March when San Antonio was without Wembanyama. They'll meet again on the last day of the regular season.
"You have to come into the game defensive-minded. I think we did a pretty good job. It was a real fun game, and we're going to learn a lot from that," Wembanyama reiterated.It appears the learning will be key if the inexperienced Spurs are to enjoy a fun postseason .
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