Victor Wembanyama made his presence known in Game 3 of the NBA Finals
It wasn’t just the Spurs star’s stats that increased in San Antonio’s 115-111 win, but his physicality also rose sharply.
But in seeing that physical play, ex-NBAer Lou Williams went as far as to say on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” on Tuesday that Wembanyama was “dirty.”
“Give credit where it’s due. Wemby’s starting to do a lot of dirty s–t,” Williams, the three-time Sixth Man of the Year, said.
Chandler Parsons said Wembanyama, who scored 32 points in Game 3 but made headlines for his shove of Knicks star Jalen Brunson, needs to find the right balance in his game.
“I’d rather him do this than flopping and foul baiting.” Parsons said. “He’s got to be careful, though. This type of stuff will get you tossed from a game, and then your team has zero chance.”
Many have pointed to the one play in particular when Wembanyama was guarding Brunson late in the first quarter and the San Antonio big man threw Brunson to the floor.
The referees did not call a foul live and did not review the play. During the postgame interviews, Brunson remained coy about what happened.
“Whatever you saw is what you saw,” Brunson said.
Wembanyama heard it from the Knicks fans in the form of a “F–k you, Wemby” chant, but he said he understands where his villain status is.
“I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though,” he said of the former Hawks star who tormented the Knicks during the 2021 playoffs.
The Spurs dictated the physicality of Game 3 as a whole. The perimeter guards in Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox made it hard for Brunson and the Knicks to have freedom on the outside.
The Spurs were also able to shut down Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points on 4-for-10 shooting) for the first time in the series.
But still, even with the 7-foot-4 Defensive Player of the Year, the Spurs were out-rebounded (46 to 37) and conceded more points in the paint (46 to 44). But that did not hurt them in Game 3 because the guards played so well.
If the Spurs want to knot the series at two games apiece on Wednesday night, that could be an area of improvement. But for the Knicks, consistent play will be key.
The now all-important Game 4 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
