Victor Wembanyama growled in frustration as he punched the air. Presumably angry at himself.<\/p>\n
With about a minute left in the first half, Minnesota\u2019s Naz Reid drove from the left wing and scooped a finger roll high off the glass. Wembanyama, coming over from the weakside, barely missed Reid\u2019s lofting layup.<\/p>\n
It was one of the few Timberwolves shots in his vicinity that he didn\u2019t get to in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Spurs star and freshly crowned Defensive Player of the Year set a new NBA record with 11 blocks in a single postseason game. Wembanyama tied the previous figure of 10 blocks at the 2:54 mark of the third quarter on a layup up attempt by Minnesota\u2019s Bones Hyland. In one jump, Wembanyama took two swipes at the scoop shot, first with his left and then with his right.<\/p>\n
He broke the record at the 8:26 mark of the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards, driving down the right side, split a pair of defenders and tried for a layup. But Wembanyama slapped it against the backboard and started a Spurs fast break. With the play, Wembanyama had a new career high, regular season or postseason.<\/p>\n
Three players shared the previous record for blocks, which became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season. Utah\u2019s Mark Eaton was the first to do it in 1985 \u2014 against Houston\u2019s twin towers of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Olajuwon, the Hall of Fame center, did it next in 1990 against the Lakers. Andrew Bynum matched the feat for the Lakers in 2012 against Denver.<\/p>\n
Eaton was 28 years old. Olajuwon was 27. Bynum was 24. Wembanyama is 22.<\/p>\n