Victor Wembanyama in Review: Scouting Rookie in Spurs OT Win; Houston Rockets Notebook

Victor Wembanyama in Review: Scouting Rookie in Spurs OT Win; Houston Rockets Notebook

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama was the most highly sought-after prospect entering the 2023 NBA Draft since LeBron James 20 years ago, and the Houston Rockets were one of four teams who had the best odds of landing the French phenom.

But luck was not on the Rockets' side during the Draft Lottery on May 17. They fell one ping-pong ball short of landing the No. 1 pick and watched as the San Antonio Spurs walked away with the grand prize.

Five months later, Wembanyama led the Spurs on a fourth-quarter comeback to send the Rockets home with a 126-122 overtime loss inside the Frost Bank Center Friday night.  

Wembanyama finished with a career-high 21 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

"He's a competitor," coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's going to be decisive and do what he thinks he can do to win. But they're all like that. So are the Houston Rockets. That's what these guys do. They're competitive or they wouldn't be where they are."

The Rockets contained Wembanyama through the first three quarters. They held a 98-93 lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter when Wembanyama completed an and-1 dunk over Jabari Smith Jr. Before the play, Wembanyama had eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. 

San Antonio came within two points following Wemby's three-point play. But Wembanyama's dunk was the first of several clutch plays he recorded down the stretch.

His most significant basket took place with 20 seconds left in regulation by scoring a driving baseline layup, tying the game at 111. 

Between the final six minutes and overtime, Wembanyama recorded 11 points and three rejections. He came up huge in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter with back-to-back blocks on Smith.

"Toughness on the rebounds — he was getting putbacks," Houston coach Ime Udoka said. "He’s going to be able to jump over you. It’s not the shots that he’s taking over you, it’s the ones where he’s getting by guys, getting to the basket, and getting those dunks. 

"We wanted to force him to take somewhat contested shots, but with us being smaller guys, he shouldn’t be able to drive right by us like that."

Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half against at Frost Bank Center / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Alperen Sengun plays a complete all-round game: The Rockets dropped their second consecutive game by falling to the Spurs, but there were several positives the team can build upon to avoid a 0-3 start Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors.

The backcourt pairing of Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet scored 46 points. But the most promising production came from Alperen Sengun. He finished the game with a team-high 25 points (11-of-18 shooting 1-3 on threes), 14 rebounds and seven assists.

"He was aggressive," Udoka said. "He was obviously [aggressive] on the low post, which got him into foul trouble. We just wanted him to make better decisions down the stretch."

Despite a one-handed dunk over Spurs' Zach Collins, Sengun's best play came on the defensive end. Wembanyama tried to take Sengun off the dribble midway through the fourth quarter, but the Turkish native pickpocketed the reigning No. 1 overall pick for his second steal.

Sengun credited his performance to an hour-long meeting with the coaching staff, where they studied film and shared tips on the areas that needed improvements. In addition to his meeting, VanVleet took the notion to instruct Sengun in-game to assist in his all-around performance.

"I was feeling good before the game," Sengun said. "Fred is leading us a lot. He was talking to me throughout the game. After I missed some shots in the first half, he came and talked to me. It gave me motivation."

A game of runs leads to poor subpar execution: Since the Rockets missed eight consecutive shots during a preseason loss on Oct. 18, Udoka has preached the importance of getting off to a fast start.

He reiterated the significance during his pre-game media availability. The Rockets got off to a nice start behind 10 first-quarter points by Green. But when it came to Houston's late-game execution, the Rockets struggled to hold off the Spurs.

"For the most part, we competed," VanVleet said. "We stayed together through a lot of adversity. It was a game of runs. But, ultimately, you have to find ways to win in this league — that margin for error is really small."

The Rockets held a double-digit lead on two occasions. But each time it appeared that Houston was on the verge of taking control, the Spurs refused to fold.

A dunk by Smith put the Rockets ahead by five with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Houston's lackluster execution resulted in the Spurs outscoring the Rockets 18-13 at the end of regulation.

Headlined by a missed game-winning basket by Smith, the Rockets missed five field goals and three foul shots during the final six minutes. At the start of overtime, the Spurs opened the extra period on a 6-0 run, while the Rockets committed four consecutive turnovers. 

"The common component was us getting stops and getting out and playing fast," Udoka said. "We got out in transition. We got open looks. Obviously, they’re a bigger team so they’re not as good getting back. It starts with that. Limiting them to one shot. A lot of the offensive rebounds they got led to wide-open kick-out threes."