In Game 3, Wembanyama set 35 ball-screens, the third-highest total in his 19 playoff games. Of the 35, 16 of them had two players on the weak side.
But late in the second quarter, right after the Knicks took their first lead of the game, the Spurs found something with two players on the strong side. Julian Champagnie was in the left corner, and Harper was in the left “dunker” spot (on the baseline, just outside the paint). That left Devin Vassell (deep in the right corner) as the lone Spurs player on the weak side as Wembanyama set a ball screen for De’Aaron Fox.
With Vassell so far away, the Knicks had nobody to tag Wembanyama as he rolled into the paint. Both Jordan Clarkson (Vassell) and Josh Hart (Harper) collapsed into the paint after Wembanyama caught the ball, but now the Knicks were a little scrambled.