By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Victor Wembanyama posted a double-double, pushing the San Antonio Spurs to a win, 131-121, against the Washington Wizards in Capital One Arena on Monday.
The French superstar went for 12/21 from the field, including five three-pointers, en route to 31 points. He added 15 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals.
“We had a solid attitude. We were steady on both sides of the court,” reacted Wemby in a postgame press conference, “It’s the key. It’s always the first step to win.”
Coming off the bench for the Spurs, Polish Jeremy Sochan combined 14 points with five rebounds, three steals, and three assists, and Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in three points, one assist, and one rebound.
Bilal Coulibaly, a former teammate of Wembanyama during the 2022-23 season with Metropolitans 92 in France, drew ten points, including a poster on The Alien in the fourth quarter. The 20-year-old French forward added four assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His current French teammate, Alex Sarr (left ankle sprain) remained sidelined.
Serbian Tristan Vukcevic tallied 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. “I’ve been out of the rotation, so all the actual work was with the coaches and the stay-ready games helped me be prepared for these past couple of games that have been giving me an opportunity,” he said, “That’s the main thing, staying ready.”
Early exit for Diabate
In Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 97-89. British Tosan Evbuomwan contributed seven points, six rebounds, three steals, and one assist for the team coached by Spanish Jordi Fernandez. Sidelined from the top of the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot) stayed on the injury list.
For the team guided by Charles Lee, French Moussa Diabate was cleared from an injury in his right eye but exited with an abrasion after setting his personal best in the NBA to 21 points with 9/11 two-pointers. The 23-year-old forward also recorded ten rebounds and two blocks.
With Bosnian newcomer Jusuf Nurkic staying shy from his debut, another French Hornet, Tidjane Salaun went for 16 points, five rebounds, two steals, and one block in a losing effort. “This helped me to grow, to understand more the NBA culture,” the promising rookie commented on increased minutes.
French action in the Rocket Mortage FieldHouse translated into Rudy Gobert piling up 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and one assist as the Minnesota Timberwolves fell, 128-107, to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bosnian teammate Luka Garza did not get on the board in three minutes.