San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama cleared his mind on Sunday by drawing a statue in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park. The artistic mental break proved to be the perfect reset after his costly buzzer-beating miss in Game 2. On Monday night, the French phenom completely took over Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. His dominant performance prevented San Antonio from falling into an insurmountable three-game deficit in the championship series.
Wembanyama started the game on fire, hitting his first two shots and scoring nine points in the opening five minutes. He set an aggressive tone early with an emphatic alley-oop on the very first play followed by another dunk. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson emphasized that getting the big man inside was a focal point to pressure the rim. The 22-year-old centerpiece finished the night with 32 points, guiding the Spurs to a 115-111 road victory.
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The young star made major contributions on both ends of the floor, particularly during a commanding fourth-quarter stretch. Defensively, he stifled a late Knicks rally by surging to block an attempted Landry Shamet layup with four minutes left. New York coach Mike Brown lamented his team’s lack of defensive detail, noting that Wembanyama feasted on numerous lob dunks. Along with his scoring output, the center tallied eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.
Knicks fans tried to rattle Wembanyama with vulgar chants, but the star silenced the Madison Square Garden crowd by shooting 11-of-18. When asked afterward if he was becoming a classic New York villain, he joked he was not yet at Trae Young’s level. His teammates never doubted his ability to respond under pressure after the heartbreaking conclusion to the previous matchup. Wembanyama will look to help the Spurs even the series in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
