Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs got back to winning ways on Monday night with a 115-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Spurs secured a much-needed win following Saturday’s 136-134 overtime loss to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
The bad news for San Antonio, however, is that the win came with a substantial cost. The Spurs lost Wembanyama to a rib injury during the game.
The two-time All-Star first exited the contest in the second quarter after taking a hit to the mid-section. Wembanyama checked back into the game late in the first half but was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
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Wembanyama looked to be in a lot of pain as he lay on the floor after the hit. He was able to get back to his feet and walk to the locker room on his own. The 7-foot-4 big man also looked fine when he returned to close out the opening half.
Wembanyama did not start the second half. The Spurs later announced that he was done for the evening. The 22-year-old finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, three blocks, an assist and one triple in 16 minutes of action.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson addressed Wembanyama’s injury after the game. Unfortunately, Johnson did not yet have an update on the Frenchman’s status. The Spurs coach, however, highlighted a key development.
"I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back, and he played the last four or five minutes of the half," Johnson said. "So that's a positive from my perspective, but I have nothing."
The Spurs’ next game is on Wednesday. They will host the Portland Trail Blazers at Frost Bank Center. At this point, Wembanyama’s status for that one is up in the air.
The Spurs have three games left in the regular season, including the Blazers matchup on Wednesday. They improved to 60-19 after Monday’s win, and are now 2.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
