Victor Vembanyama talks about the Lakers’ ‘ethical’ dominance

Game after San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Vembanyama pointed to himself and noted a general lack of team focus after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucksthe 7-foot-5 phenom praised his team after a 126-102 victory against Los Angeles Lakers.

Because of LA is firing, the Silver and Black haven’t played in five days. Although the tragic circumstances in Southern California overshadowed everything, when it came to the reality on the field, the Spurs had more time than usual to try their worst performance in nearly a month.

With a .500 record against Wisconsin on Jan. 8, San Antonio fell 121-105 in a contest that wasn’t all that close. But while they’ve lost a few games over the past few weeks, none have come in the same way that Milwaukee did. Of the Spurs’ next ten games, they won five, including an impressive road victory at the Denver Nuggets and a victory against an Atlanta Hawks team that was among the strongest in the league. All five losses – all to teams that are realistically looking at the postseason – came in by a narrow margin. The Spurs led in the fourth quarter in each of them.

Monday night’s game against the Lakers marked a return to the way the Spurs have been operating since a double-digit loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in mid-December.

The recent Spurs resurgence against the Lakers

Vembanyama scored 23 points against LeBron James and company. He was hardly alone. Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle also scored 23 points, which was especially noteworthy for the latter. In breaking out from a recent decline after a good first few months to start your careerthe UConn rookie set an NBA career record. Chris Paul added 13, while Harrison Barnes had 17, both players making key baskets down the stretch as the Spurs pulled away.

“Everybody had a chance to shine and make the next teammate better,” Wemby said.

While all five starters scored in double figures, Keldon Johnson, the team’s best player off the bench, added ten. As a team, they shot 53.3 percent from the field. In addition to scoring, backup big man Charles Bassey grabbed nine rebounds, while backup point guard Tre Jones picked up a couple of steals and assists. All 13 eligible Spurs played.

“My teammates just respected the game and did a lot of things that don’t show up on the scoreboard,” Wembanyama added.

On the other hand, the Spurs defense held the Lakers offense well. Aside from Anthony Davis’ 30 points, only James, with 18, scored at least 13 against the Spurs. Overall, only four Lakers scored in double figures, including Max Christie’s 10 and Austin Reaves’ 12. As a team, they shot just 31.8 percent from the 3-point line, giving up more than 30 points in a quarter just once, and managed just 13 points in the decisive fourth quarter.

It was a complete win for the Spurs against a franchise likely to make the postseason.

“It was a very healthy game,” Wemby said.

In other words: it gave life to his team. With a three-game losing streak behind them, San Antonio heads into the midseason with a postseason berth of their own in sight.