Wembanyama’s Nine Blocks Exposed How Little Booker Could Fix

Victor Wembanyama did not merely headline San Antonio’s 122-96 win in Phoenix. He put nine possessions in a vault. The Spurs center blocked nine shots, scored 40 points, collected 11 rebounds and went 15-for-19 from the field in 25 minutes.

Devin Booker then supplied the complication: 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting, three 3-pointers, nine made free throws and zero turnovers. Phoenix received an excellent night from its leading scorer and still had no answer broad enough to keep the game competitive.

The result was decided by more than one towering performance. Wembanyama’s nine blocks are a precise part of the explanation because nine Phoenix attempts were erased. One came with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter, when he rejected Ryan Dunn’s 6-foot driving layup.

San Antonio finished with 11 blocks to Phoenix’s seven and scored 62 points in the paint, compared with 48 for the Suns. Those figures do not prove that every missed Phoenix shot was altered by Wembanyama. They do show how often San Antonio controlled the area where the game’s easiest points are usually found.

Booker kept finding his own answers. Early in the first quarter, he made two 12-foot pull-ups and later hit a 27-foot running pull-up at 7:34. He also drew enough contact to go 9-for-10 at the line.

Phoenix led by one at its best point, but San Antonio ended the opening period ahead 31-25 and then put together a 21-2 run. The Spurs reached halftime with a 61-46 advantage. Booker’s efficiency prevented a more abrupt offensive collapse; it could not cover every other missing piece.

The rebounding margin was especially damaging. San Antonio won the glass 55-35 and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. Phoenix did not surrender the game through a turnover avalanche—the Suns had seven giveaways, while the Spurs had 11—but clean ballhandling did not compensate for losing so many second chances.

San Antonio could miss and continue the possession. Phoenix often had to make its first attempt count, a difficult arrangement against a team with Wembanyama patrolling the interior.

Then Dylan Harper turned the third quarter into his own answer to Booker. Harper entered halftime with only three points, yet he finished with 17 after adding 14 in the third. His scoring came in several forms: an 11-foot driving floater, a driving layup followed by a free throw, an 11-foot step-back, a turnaround jumper and another free throw.

San Antonio expanded the halftime margin to 93-68 after three quarters. Wembanyama supplied the spectacular defensive number, while Harper provided the secondary scoring burst that Phoenix could not match.

That imbalance explains why Booker’s line feels less like a failed star performance than an indictment of the help around it. Khaman Maluach was productive, scoring 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting and adding five rebounds. He was the only other Phoenix player in double figures.

Dillon Brooks managed seven points on 3-for-14 shooting. Jalen Green scored six on 2-for-8 shooting, turned the ball over three times and did not make a 3-pointer. Miles Bridges also scored seven, despite contributing two blocks and five rebounds.

The Suns did have some stable pieces. They converted 17 of 19 free throws, and their seven turnovers were hardly reckless. Booker’s four assists also helped keep the offense moving.

But Phoenix shot 35-for-89 overall, or 39.3 percent, while San Antonio made 46 of 90 attempts. The gap was not simply that Wembanyama blocked shots; the Spurs paired his interior work with enough scoring from Harper and enough rebounding to keep Phoenix from turning stops into a recovery.

A 26-point defeat can make every flaw look permanent, and one game cannot settle what Phoenix will be over a season. This game can establish something narrower and more immediate: Booker can be efficient, careful and productive without making the Suns difficult to solve. San Antonio had Wembanyama at the rim, Harper filling the scoring space beside him and a 20-rebound advantage behind them.

Phoenix had Booker’s 32 and too few answers at either basket.

Sources

ESPN: final game record and play-by-play

Associated Press via ESPN: game reporting