Spurs say they need more from Victor Wembanyama after off-night - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama dressed quietly in a corner of the visitors' locker room at Paycom Center following the San Antonio Spurs' 127-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.

After pulling on a pair of size 20.5 all-white Air Force 1 sneakers, the Frenchman slipped out of the locker room to the nearest exit down the hall and into the night.

A team spokesman said Wembanyama would be unavailable to speak to the media, nearly an hour after Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said «we're going to need to» get San Antonio's generational superstar going to stave off elimination Thursday in Game 6 with the Thunder now leading the series 3-2.

«He's got to take more than 15 shots,» Johnson said. «Even with the [12] free throws, he's going to have to score more than 20 points for sure.»

Wembanyama shot a postseason-career-low 27% but connected on 12-of-12 from the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds with three blocks as San Antonio dropped back-to-back road games for the first time since a three-game skid in January.

It left the Spurs trailing in a series for the third time this postseason; they won the previous two times.

Asked if Wembanyama's performance came because of his aggression or the team's game plan, Johnson said it was a combination of the two.

«OKC did a good job. We've got to do a better job,» Johnson said. «That's probably the easiest in terms of when you [look at] surface level stuff that he'll definitely need to take more shots. But there's a lot of things all over the place. Even when we had advantages, we just didn't make simple plays and take advantage of the opportunity, that possession. In this type of game, you've got to be sure of everything you're