SAN ANTONIO (AP) — It’s tempting, but the San Antonio Spurs will not play Victor Wembanyama every minute of regulation against Oklahoma City even as they trail the Thunder 2-1 in the Western Conference finals.
Instead, San Antonio has to find a way to play better when Wembanyama rests because Oklahoma City is dominating when the 7-foot-4 star from France is on the bench.
The Thunder are two wins away from returning to the NBA Finals with Game 4 on Sunday in San Antonio.
Oklahoma City has won two straight by an average of 12 points since Wembanyama had 41 points, 24 rebounds and three rebounds in 49 minutes during San Antonio’s 122-115 double-overtime victory in Game 1 on Monday.
As the Spurs seek solutions, playing Wembanyama more minutes is intriguing but not viable.
“The idea is there,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said, smiling, “but, yeah, I think as we’ve seen it, him fresh or somewhat fresh is still the best. … We don’t want to sacrifice our style of play and the identity that we’ve been building since October.”
The Spurs were a plus-4 in Wembanyama’s 39 minutes in Game 3’s 123-108 loss to the Thunder on Friday. That number may seem inconsequential, but San Antonio was minus-15 as a team and its main reserves were in the negative by double digits.
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a team-high 26 points, but the rest of the starters combined for 21 points.
Their scoring wasn’t needed Friday.
Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23 and were a combined 14 for 29 on 3-pointers. The 76 bench points are the most in the conference finals since the NBA went to the 16-team playoff format in 1984.
“We’ve dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the year, but it’s built us,” Thunder center Jaylin Williams said. “It’s built us as a team. It’s built us as players to be ready for the moment, to be ready when your name is called.”
Williams had a playoff career-high 18 points, and fellow reserve Jared McCain finished with 24 points.
The Spurs opened Game 3 on a 15-0 run, the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997. San Antonio led 19-4 when Wembanyama subbed out with seven minutes remaining in the quarter but the Thunder cut the deficit to 24-19 when he returned with 3:44 remaining in the first.
The Thunder’s depth also allows them to throw multiple bodies and looks to wear on Wembanyama and the Spurs.
“I know I’m not going to play as many minutes as (Wembanyama) is, so the minutes I’m out there I’m trying to make his job as tough as I can make it,” Williams said.
Making matters worse for the Spurs is two of their primary playmakers and scorers are battling injuries.
Point guards De’Aaron Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) played in Game 3 but were not at 100%. Fox also appeared to injure his left ankle in the third quarter but returned shortly after exiting for the locker room.
“They came out of the game, finished on their own accord,” Johnson said. “I took them out, so that’s a plus and as of now we expect them to be ready to go. So, those guys are giving us all they got, and I commend them and tip my cap because they’re competing … and they’re not 100%.”
There was no update on their playing status as of Sunday afternoon.
The diminished health of Fox and Harper along with Oklahoma City’s physicality has slowed San Antonio’s usual breakneck pace offensively.
The Spurs played reserve center Luke Kornet alongside Wembanyama at times Friday in an attempt to improve its rebounding and spark a faster pace, but the Thunder limited that as well.
“That’s been good for us all year,” Castle said of the Spurs’ pace. “I don’t think it’s just against them that it’s crucial that we have those possessions, but, I mean, I think that comes from getting stops first.”
Castle did not want to give away any strategy, but he did say the Spurs discovered some “schematic stuff” that should fix their lapses on both ends for Game 4.
Regardless, San Antonio has to find a way to keep playing with Wembanyama on the bench.
“I feel like each and every one of us has got to be better,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, I think it’s just that as a team, as an organization, there’s a lot of new experiences. We’re just going to have to find the answers.”
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