I was this close to coming back in the game," Wembanyama said. 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 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. A third-year veteran, Wembanyama previously sat out 12 games earlier in the season because of a left calf strain.