The Golden State Warriors picked up their second straight win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night in dramatic fashion with a 109-108 victory that saw things get a bit feisty between the two Western Conference contenders.
Naturally, at the center of it all was Draymond Green, who tried some of his usual antics with Victor Wembanyama but learned quickly the Spurs’ young star wasn’t going to back down from the challenge. Green started jawing with Wemby and tried pushing him around in the early fourth quarter ahead of an inbounds play, and Wembanyama responded with a vicious dunk off a lob on the inbound pass before screaming in Green’s face.
The dunk didn’t count because they called the foul on the floor, but it was quite the response from Wembanyama, who continues to prove his “dog in him” levels are off the charts.
Unfortunately for Wembanyama and the Spurs, this was the highlight of their fourth quarter as the Warriors were able to claw back in front behind a monster 49-point game from Stephen Curry to get the win. Wembanyama finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs came painfully close to pulling out a win in NBA Cup action.
After the game, Wembanyama was asked about his demonstrative reaction to the dunk and explained that the way Green was talking to him made it necessary for him to respond in kind.
“I was not trying to prove anything to anybody, it’s just, at some point — just like anybody, if somebody speaks to you a certain way, you have to respond a certain way,” Wembanyama said, matter of factly. “That’s just how it is.”
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He was then asked if he enjoyed the moment, with the reporter noting Green seemed to appreciate the back and forth.
“Did I enjoy it? Good question,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t know, I’m not enjoying it now.”
Wemby is always very wary of showing that he cares about anything but winning, but I do think in the moment, he enjoyed getting to give Green a bit of comeuppance. That was spoiled for him after the fact by the Spurs’ loss, but even in defeat, Wembanyama continues to prove that he is not just the future of the NBA but a force in the present.
