Spurs end 6-year playoff drought behind Wembanyama's game-winner - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — As 9.7 seconds ticked away and a sellout crowd at Frost Bank Center gasped in anticipation, Victor Wembanyama surveyed the defense, stepped right and took one dribble before nailing the shot that would clinch the Spurs their first postseason berth since 2019.

Wembanyama buried a go-ahead 17-foot fadeaway over Oso Ighodaro with 1.1 seconds left to lift San Antonio to a 101-100 triumph over the Phoenix Suns. The shot marked Wembanyama's first go-ahead make in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career, after missing on five previous attempts, according to ESPN Research.

«We know it's not going to be an open shot most of the time,» Wembanyama said. «In this situation, you want to wait. If you take a shot too early, whether you make or miss it, you're shooting yourself in the foot because the defense would probably get the rebound and have time or inbound and have time. So, you want to shoot it as close to one or two seconds [remaining]. This way, we have a chance to get an offensive rebound if we miss and if we make [it], they don't have time.»

Wembanyama finished with a game-high 34 points to go with 12 rebounds and three steals for San Antonio, which became the NBA's second team to clinch a postseason berth, following Oklahoma City, which clinched Tuesday. The performance was Wembanyama's 11th 30-point, 10-rebound game of the season, good for the fourth-most in the NBA and the most by a Spurs player since 2003-04, when Hall of Famer Tim Duncan put together 13 such outings.

In the scramble to sprint back on defense after the go-ahead bucket, Wembanyama bumped into a fan sitting courtside, who spilled red wine all over the Frenchman's shorts. As Devin Booker's final desperation