Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama is inspired to play against Kevin Durant

The victory over the Suns on Tuesday was exciting for Victor Wembanyama to go against a player he had looked up to for some time.

Playing against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs emerged victorious on Tuesday following a wild sequence late in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs trailed the Suns for nearly the entire contest and were down 20 points in the second half. The group was down by 13 points entering the fourth quarter but outscored the Suns, 33-19, over the final 12 minutes to pull out the win and improve to 2-2.

Wembanyama and Keldon Johnson put the Spurs ahead.

With 6.8 seconds left, Wembanyama cleaned up a missed 3-pointer by Devin Vassell to bring the deficit to one point. On the next play, Johnson ripped the ball away from Durant and converted the go-ahead layup with 1.2 seconds remaining.

It was the only time the Spurs led in the game.

Wembanyama shook off a slow start and finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and one assist in 28 minutes. He produced nine points in the fourth quarter and converted four of his five shot attempts to help the Spurs complete the comeback.

The Spurs look to get him going earlier in games moving forward.

“He is playing through it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He is learning the game and what he can and can’t do in this league. He never stops trying, and he is a quick learner. In the second half, it was much better than in the first half. We just have to get him feeling comfortable from the beginning of the game.”

Said Wembanyama: “The goal is to be good in four quarters, not just the fourth one. But I gotta say, it is better to be bad at first and finish strong than the opposite.”

The victory for Wembanyama was exciting to get against a player he had looked up to for quite some time. Wembanyama wasn’t able to catch many games in France due to the time zone difference, but Durant was a player he tuned in to watch.

The two players were matched up on each other often.

One highlight featured Durant hitting a tough, step-back shot over the outstretched arms of Wembanyama. Another one saw Wembanyama blow past Durant on the 3-point line for the one-handed dunk late in the second quarter.

Durant believes he has a bright future ahead.

He is a unique player and is going to be a force in this league for a long time. Once he gets more experience under his belt, he is just going to continue to get better.

The opportunity to play against Durant also served as a litmus test to see where the French phenom stacks up against the future Hall of Famer. Wembanyama, speaking afterward, said he has a long way to go to reach that level.

“I learned I’m far from mastering the game as much as him,” Wembanyama said. “I tried to do some stuff like him, but I think I’m maybe not patient enough. I want to go too fast, and he goes at his own pace and goes to his spots. I think I need to get inspired by that.”

After facing Durant on Tuesday, Wembanyama and the Spurs will face the Suns once again Thursday on the road. He’ll have another chance to see one of his idols, but the 7-footer wants to celebrate the victory first.

“Pop always tells us: ‘(Be) humble in victory, but celebrate it and enjoy it,'” Wembanyama said. “To me, every win is crazy for me. Obviously, it is the NBA and I’m new here, but every win, as small as it is, I feel great and I want to celebrate it every time.”

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