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Michael C. Wright
SAN ANTONIO — Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama limped off the court in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s 134-132 win over the New York Knicks after his left knee buckled as he tried to secure a rebound under the basket.
Wembanyama said afterward that he suffered a hyperextension and that initial tests did not reveal any other issues. He said he would have more testing done Thursday.
“I was confident. I was this close to coming back in the game,” Wembanyama said. “[They] had to hold me back. It was just a hyperextension, so it should be minimal. We’ve got to do everything tomorrow still to check that everything’s OK.”
Wembanyama added, “I expect to be back the next game.”
Wembanyama was injured with 10:32 left in the game with the Spurs trailing 106-92 as he battled under the basket with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson for a rebound. Wembanyama immediately grabbed at his left knee after the play. Teammate Stephon Castle helped Wembanyama back to his feet, and the Frenchman hobbled to the locker room under his own power.
Wembanyama appeared to tell Castle “I’m fine” as the guard helped him up and appeared to deliver the same message to the sellout crowd of 18,062 as he hobbled off the floor and headed to the locker room.
Wembanyama returned to the bench with 1:22 left to play wearing team warmups, but he did not check back into the game.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said that Wembanyama finishing the game on the bench gave him hope that the injury was not serious.
“Have not been able to talk to the medical staff yet, but I think I saw what everybody else saw,” Johnson said. “Obviously, he finished the game on the bench with his teammates. So, I think that made me feel good.”
Wembanyama finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes on the floor.
A third-year veteran, Wembanyama previously sat out 12 games earlier in the season because of a left calf strain. He returned to the lineup on Dec. 13 during the semifinals of the NBA Cup against Oklahoma City and came off the bench in his first six outings back from the injury before making his first start on Dec. 27 in a loss to the Utah Jazz.
Wembanyama entered the contest Wednesday averaging 24.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.