Victor Wembanyama came within a whisker of a triple-double, but ended up losing with the San Antonio Spurs in Los Angeles at the Clippers’ home (113-104) on Monday in the NBA. The Spurs got off to a magnificent start (40-14 after the 1st quarter), but eventually succumbed to the Clippers’ long-range skills (19 out of 37 at 51%).

French phenomenon Victor Wembanyama was again rather clumsy at shooting (9 on 22, 2 on 9 from distance), but his versatility and activity enabled him to finish top scorer of the game with 24 points, in addition to having accumulated 13 rebounds, 9 counters, 3 assists and 3 steals. Wemby” was just one rebound short of his third NBA triple-double, having already achieved the rare feat of a triple-double with points, rebounds and blocks in February.

The giant (2.24 m), who was last season’s best NBA counter-attacker, was authoritarian in the Spurs’ backcourt, racking up more blocks than any Clipper (7). The 20-year-old Frenchman also brought the crowd at the new Intuit Dome to its feet with some spectacular moves, including two one-handed dunks on an alley-oop after a Chris Paul feed. It’s enough to bring back fond memories for Clippers fans, who a few years ago enjoyed the services of the point guard (with the team from 2011 to 2017) for the mighty Blake Griffin.