San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama skipped media availability Tuesday night after a brutal 127-114 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Wembanyama scored 20 points, but 12 came from the free-throw line. He shot just 4-of-15 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts. It was his worst outing of the series after back-to-back 41-point and 33-point performances that helped the Spurs tie the series.
Head coach Mitch Johnson acknowledged Wembanyama needs to do more. "He's got to take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws," Johnson said. "He's going to have to score more than 20 points, for sure."
The Thunder blitzed Wembanyama with multiple defenders including Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams, and Alex Caruso. Oklahoma City built an 18-point lead in the third quarter. The Spurs cut the deficit to eight but couldn't get closer, scoring just two points in the first four minutes of the fourth.
"It's a team defense," Thunder guard Jared McCain said. "We know that when he gets going, their whole team gets going."
Game 6 is Thursday night in San Antonio.