Calmed down by painting, Wembanyama leads Spurs to Game 3 win

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama (1) rises to the basket against Knicks Fil-Am Jordan Clarkson. —AP

Victor Wembanyama escaped the NBA Finals whirlwind with some drawing in a park before playing a starring role in the San Antonio Spurs’ 115-111 Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday.

The French superstar scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds to spark a San Antonio win that pulled them within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, which continues on Wednesday.

“Wemby” escaped the mental tensions of the NBA Finals by leaving the hotel hours before Game 3 and making a drawing of a statue in a park.

“Really tried to relax,” said Wembanyama. “The playoffs, it’s like a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water.

“I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover as much for the body as for the mind.”

The 22-year-old worked with monks in the offseason, but physically, he was anything but zen.

“I remember running laps and laps during the summer, and like my hamstrings were burning. But I was pushing through because I was trying to push my limit,” he said.

“In the playoffs I felt the hamstrings burning from running so much, playing sometimes 25 minutes in a row, so the physical aspect is really the difference maker.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was pleased with the aggressive play from his big man at Madison Square Garden.

“I’m sure Victor has numerous sources of motivation,” Johnson said. “I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything different than a strong performance and him being on his front foot in terms of being in attack mode.”

For the Knicks, who made 13 turnovers and were outscored 25-18 from the free-throw line, a perceived lack of second-half foul calls upset coach Mike Brown.

But Karl-Anthony Towns stressed: “That ain’t cost us the game. Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins. That’s how you lose a game,” Towns said.

‘Mental mishaps’

“Tomorrow we have to get back to work, get back to the drawing board, and get ready for Game 4.”

OG Anunoby said his team was just “a little bit out of rhythm” in seeing a 13-game win streak snapped.

“We weren’t as connected as we normally are. We had some mental mishaps and allowed some easy buckets, and also our transition defense wasn’t what we wanted it to be.

“All we can do is move on and learn from this and take it as adversity and respond to it.”

Wembanyama made the first two shots he attempted on Monday night against the Knicks. He had nine points in the first five minutes, including an alley-oop on the first basket of the game and a dunk on the next possession, and was a force on both ends of the court, especially late when it mattered most.

Wembanyama was a key to San Antonio building an early lead, but even more importantly, in a third-quarter rally to bounce back from another blown double-digit lead.

After delivering the pass to Keldon Johnson for a layup that tied the score at 76 with 5:38 left in the third, Wembanyama hit a three-pointer from 29 feet out to put the Spurs ahead. He scored the first basket of what turned into a dominant fourth quarter, later drawing a foul and making a pair of free throws for San Antonio’s 99th and 100th points.

With four minutes left and the Knicks looking to stage another comeback, Wembanyama surged to block what looked to be an easy layup by Landry Shamet. —WITH REPORTS FROM AFP AND AP