Victor Wembanyama knows this is just part of his NBA education. For the first time since coming to San Antonio, he and the Spurs are trailing in a playoff series.
He hopes they'll be quick studies.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, middle, goes to the basket during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks toward the bench during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, forwards Keldon Johnson (3) and Victor Wembanyama (1) look on during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) works toward the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) defends during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
The Spurs trail the Western Conference finals 2-1, after falling 123-108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. It was San Antonio's second consecutive loss after winning Game 1 in a double-overtime classic.
And when Game 3 was done, Wembanyama — as he tends to do, even as a 22-year-old in his first playoff run — summed up the moment perfectly.
“It’s my first playoffs. It was the first playoffs for many of us," Wembanyama said. "Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It is to be expected. But now, we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
In other words, expect to see anything and everything the Spurs can muster when the series resumes with Game 4 in San Antonio on Sunday night.
Wembanyama's scoring numbers on Friday night were stellar again: 26 points in 39 minutes, during which the Spurs outscored the Thunder by four points. The problem was the other nine minutes, during which the Thunder outscored the Spurs by 19.
But Wembanyama — again, as he tends to do — found plenty of fault in his own game, after finishing with only four rebounds and three assists.
“I have trouble making my teammates better right now," Wembanyama said. "I should do better. My shooting splits aren’t terrible. I need to be more of a team player.”
He was asked what that means.
“Facilitate better, rebound the ball better," Wembanyama said. "Push their defense a little bit more, to fight further and see how much they’re willing to help off of my teammates and feed them.”
Wembanyama is averaging 29.3 points and 15 rebounds in the three games. But the Spurs clearly need more against the defending champions and San Antonio's best player knows it.
The question is how the Spurs — who started Friday on a 15-0 run, then got outscored by 30 the rest of the way — can get there. And that, he said, would be what Saturday's focus is about.
“I feel like each and every one of us has got to be better," Wembanyama said. "As a team, as an organization, there’s a lot of new experiences. We’re just going to have to find the answers.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, middle, goes to the basket during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks toward the bench during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, forwards Keldon Johnson (3) and Victor Wembanyama (1) look on during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) works toward the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) defends during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche, the NHL's best team during the regular season, are in serious danger thanks to a Vegas squad that's on a run after a late-season coaching change.
“I don’t think people had this on their bingo card,” Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan said. “We knew we could do it.”
Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored in a 2:07 span in the third period and the Golden Knights stunned the Avalanche 3-1 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final.
Eichel tied it, then set up Barbashev for the go-ahead goal with 8:38 remaining. Barbashev added an empty-netter with 1:03 left. The comeback stunned the capacity crowd and wiped out the top-seeded Avalanche's 1-0 lead.
By winning twice at Ball Arena, the Golden Knights put the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche in a huge hole. Since 1982, road teams that started 2-0 in the conference finals have a 13-0 series record.
“They understand the situation,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella, who has watched his team go 17-4-1 since he took over on March 29. “I’m not sure where the series goes. I’m not sure where Game 3 goes. But I know I’m not going to have to worry about that, because they get it."
Carter Hart had another stellar performance, stopping 29 shots. He made 36 saves in a 4-2 win on Wednesday.
Colorado was cruising after Ross Colton opened the scoring in the first period. But things unraveled for the Avalanche in the third. Eichel lined a shot past Scott Wedgewood for his first goal in 11 games to get Vegas on the board.
“I haven’t scored in a million days,” he cracked.
The Golden Knights then took advantage of a miscue — Devon Toews and Brock Nelson struggled to clear the puck along the boards in the Avalanche end — as Eichel sent a pass to Barbashev, who rang in a shot off the post.
This was the fourth third-period comeback by the Golden Knights in this postseason, the most in a single playoffs in team history, according to NHL Stats.
“Just resiliency,” Hart said. “That’s the key word for our group here — we’ve just stuck in games and just grinded it out, and just battled. Resiliency, that’s a term that describes our group really well. We’re never out of the fight, and we’re always grinding in games.”
Game 3 is Sunday night in Las Vegas. The Avalanche are hoping to have star defenseman Cale Makar back in the lineup. He has missed the last two games because of an upper-body injury.
“There's urgency to get him back since he got hurt,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He's doing all the work he can possibly do to get back as fast as he can.”
Before the Golden Knights' rally, the Avalanche were 45-0-0 when leading after two periods in the regular season and playoffs combined.
“It stings for sure right now,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “But tomorrow we’ll wake up, have a meeting, fly to Vegas and regroup. That’s all you can do.”
Vegas struggled on the power play, going 0 of 4. The team also saw defenseman Brayden McNabb limp to the locker room in the first period soon after taking a check along the boards. He returned for the third period. The hard-checking Golden Knights finished with 32 hits and 16 blocked shots.
“We know how hard it is to win,” Eichel said. “A lot of that falls on playing hard defensively.”
Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson briefly left late in the second period after delivering a check on Barbashev and then ramming his face into the boards.
Wedgewood had 22 saves.
“We can't ride the emotional roller-coaster like fans,” Bednar said. “If you lose Game 1, you're getting swept. If you win Game 1, we're sweeping them. That's not reality. You have to deal with the task at hand and what's to come. We're not going to try and win four games the next night in Vegas. We're going to try to win one game.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood prepares for the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, front, falls after being tripped by Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) drives with the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and center Martin Necas (88) defend while Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) trails the play during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd, left, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood during the first period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, center, is congratulated by Vegas Golden Knights defensemen Rasmus Andersson, left, and Noah Hanifin during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
