Victor Wembanyama Calls for Emergency Huddle After Thunder Push Spurs to Brink of Elimination

Victor Wembanyama could feel Game 5 slipping away in real time Tuesday night.

Early in the third quarter of the Western Conference Finals matchup against Oklahoma City, the San Antonio Spurs superstar gathered his teammates during a timeout after the Thunder stretched their lead to 18 points. Wembanyama looked visibly frustrated as he took over the huddle, trying to reignite a Spurs team suddenly staring at elimination.

By the end of the night, OKC walked away with a 127-114 victory and a 3-2 series lead, pushing San Antonio to the brink of elimination heading into Game 6.

The moment came with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drilled a stepback three from the top of the key to extend Oklahoma City’s advantage to 18. Moments later, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich called timeout, and Wembanyama immediately motioned for his teammates to huddle closer around him.

Cameras caught Wembanyama passionately speaking to the group during the timeout while visibly frustrated with how quickly the game had swung in OKC’s favor.

The 22-year-old has embraced more of a vocal leadership role throughout this playoff run, and the timeout huddle briefly sparked better defensive energy from San Antonio before the Thunder eventually regained control.

Wembanyama’s frustration was understandable given the stakes.

Entering Tuesday night, the series was tied 2-2, meaning Game 5 carried enormous historical importance. Teams that win Game 5 in a tied playoff series overwhelmingly go on to win the series, making the loss especially damaging for a young Spurs roster trying to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in years.

Gilgeous-Alexander ultimately finished with 32 points and controlled the game late, while Oklahoma City’s depth once again overwhelmed San Antonio.

Alex Caruso delivered another major spark off the bench, and the Thunder consistently punished the Spurs whenever Wembanyama went to the perimeter offensively instead of attacking inside.

Still, San Antonio now returns home for Game 6 on Thursday with one more opportunity to force a deciding Game 7.

For that to happen, Wembanyama will likely need a far more efficient offensive performance than he delivered in Game 5.

Although he finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals, he shot just 4-for-15 from the field and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Most of his scoring came at the free-throw line, where he went a perfect 12-for-12.

Shannon Sharpe Thinks Fatigue Is Starting to Catch Up With Wembanyama

The San Antonio Spurs are one game away from elimination. During Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, San Antonio's best player, Victor Wembanyama, wasn't feeling himself on the hardwood.

Looking at Wembanyama's numbers, he put up 20 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. While his numbers may look good on paper, it's not the type of performance an MVP-caliber player should be putting up in the Western Conference Finals.

Wemby only sank 26.6% of his shots from the field in Game 5. He also missed all five of his 3-point shot attempts. Having that in mind, sports analyst Shanon Sharpe believes that the Spurs' playoff run will come to an end on Thursday if the towering Frenchman performs similarly.

"If Wemby plays like he did (in Game 5), there will not be a Game 7," Sharpe said. "It's really that simple. ... He's getting tired. You know why? He can't get a breather. ... He's not able to get his normal allotment of rest because the game starts to creep away from him. That's the issue."

Wembanyama is averaging 38.8 minutes of play so far within the last five games. His high usage could be a contributing factor to why his performance has declined in Game 5. However, that remains to be seen.

For now, all we can do is wait for Game 6 and see how the Spurs plan to regroup from the messy Game 5 performance.