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Andrew Lopez, ESPN
SAN ANTONIO — As Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo barreled his way to the rim in the final minute in Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, he tried to create space against rookie center Victor Wembanyama and rose up as he has done so often in his career.
But the result was anything but common for Antetokounmpo. The long wingspan of Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick, swatted the ball away and gave the Spurs a chance against the team with the third-best record in the league.
San Antonio’s final shot, a corner 3-pointer by Tre Jones off a pass from Wembanyama, fell short as Milwaukee held on for a 125-121 victory. But the talk after the game was the battle between two players who are unlike any other.
In their first meeting, Antetokounmpo finished with 44 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists in 39 minutes, while Wembanyama had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in 26 minutes.
Both players had several highlight plays as they squared off until the very end. In one thrilling sequence, Antetokounmpo dunked on multiple Spurs at the rim on one end, and Wembanyama answered with a self-alley-oop off the glass on the next possession.
“He’s special,” Antetokounmpo said. “He’s going to be an extremely good player. He plays the right way. He plays to win. I’ve never seen anything like him.”
Wembanyama said Antetokounmpo was one of the players he watched the most growing up and called him one of the greatest players in the world.
“It’s always extra motivation and I know I’m a competitor,” Wembanyama said. “So I want to go at everyone and be the bad guy on the court. So it was a great matchup.”
The Spurs, who fell to 5-29 on the season, fell behind by double-digits early in the first quarter in what looked like it was going to turn into another blowout loss. But San Antonio quickly fought back in a game that featured eight lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter alone.
But late in the fourth, Antetokounmpo took over.
Antetokounmpo outscored the Spurs by himself 12-8 in clutch time. The 12 clutch-time points were the second-most in any game in Antetokoumpo’s career as the Bucks improved to 14-5 in clutch games, the most wins in the league.
Milwaukee also got 25 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers from Damian Lillard on the second night of a road back-to-back after losing a tough game to Indiana on Wednesday.
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said it was a fun game to watch and a fun game to coach with Antetokoumpo and Wembanyama going after it.
“Two of the most unique, talented big men,” Griffin said. “I use that [big-man term] loosely because they are very versatile players. Man, that was fun. I thought Wemby was great, I thought Giannis was phenomenal.”
Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who did not play in the second half, said he loved watching Wembanyama’s aggressiveness at the end of the game.
“To be competing, not scared of the moment,” Middleton said. “Not scared of taking the shot and making a move or making a pass or just taking a chance in a close game, especially late in the game. You can tell that he’s not scared of the moment. He loves the challenge. That’s going to be big for him going forward.”
Keldon Johnson, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, has watched Wembanyama make plays all year long but called it “amazing” to see how he and Antetokounmpo competed throughout the game.
“I think Vic did amazing,” Johnson said. “He had some amazing plays. He showed out tonight like he always does. But it’s a good feeling and it gets the competitive juices flowing when you see those two going at it.”
According to Second Spectrum, it’s only the second time Antetokounmpo has been blocked on a driving dunk this season. And the person to deliver that dunk was someone who has watched Antetokounmpo from afar for a long time.
“I’m trying to gain knowledge from as many great players as they are,” Wembanyama said. “Giannis is one of the players I’ve watched the most. The way he uses his body, he makes a 100% of what he can do with his body. That’s something I look up to and I still look up to. It’s a player I know pretty well.”
Despite the loss, Wembanyama said he could sense that a performance against a team competing for a championship this season could lift San Antonio moving forward.
“It’s promising,” Wembanyama said. “That’s the first thing [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] told us coming back in the locker room. We had some moments in the game where everything seemed to work. And I could feel the crowd believing in us and getting going. Some of this was satisfying tonight.”