Spurs’ Mitch Johnson issues desperate challenge to Victor Wembanyama after Game 5 dud

Victor Wembanyama laid an egg in the biggest moment of his young career on Tuesday. With a chance to take a 3-2 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs superstar mustered just 20 points on 4-of-15 shooting with six rebounds, one assist and two turnovers during a 127-114 Game 5 loss.

Wembanyama’s 20 points and five made field goals were both his lowest of the series. The Spurs star declined to speak to the media postgame, but head coach Mitch Johnson was asked about the disappointing performance.

“[Victor’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… Oklahoma City did a good job. We’ve got to do a better job,” Johnson said. “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 doing in a very secure, mature way.”

The Spurs have been unable to overcome poor performances from Wembanyama during the series.

Victor Wembanyama struggles during Spurs’ pivotal Game 5 loss

The 7-foot-4 center posted 41 points and 24 rebounds on 14-of-25 shooting during the Spurs’ 122-115 Game 1 victory. He scored 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists during his team’s 103-82 Game 4 win. However, he’s averaged 22.3 points and 9.0 rebounds while attempting just 15.3 shots per game across San Antonio’s three losses, which have come by an average margin of 12.3 points.

The Thunder focused most of their defensive energy on Wembanyama on Tuesday, shading towards him on screens and post-ups and attempting to recover to outside shooters. San Antonio’s supporting cast was unable to make Oklahoma City pay, shooting 12-of-36 (33.3 percent) from three.

Julian Champagnie had his best game of the playoffs, scoring 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three. Stephon Castle added 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from three and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while Keldon Johnson had 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

However, the Spurs received subpar performances from De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, both of whom have been playing through injuries. Fox posted nine points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 from three, while Harper had five points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 from three.

Meanwhile, the Thunder bounced back from a putrid Game 4 offensive performance, shooting 40-of-83 (48 percent) from the field and 14-of-32 (44 percent) from three.

The two teams will travel back to San Antonio for Game 6 on Thursday.

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