"Go through his chest" - Ivica Zubac reveals the secret behind his bully ball dunk on Victor Wembanyama
LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac threw down a two-handed jam over San Antonio Spurs rising star big man Victor Wembanyama during Monday's 113-104 home win. Afterward, Zubac provided insight into his offensive mindset when matching up against the 7-foot-4 French phenom.
After falling behind by 26 points early, LA rallied and built a fourth-quarter lead. Up 99-93 with just over five minutes remaining, Zubac and Clippers star point guard James Harden ran a pick-and-roll. That set the former up for a strong two-handed finish through contact over Wembanyama.
Zubac's and-one play marked three of his 17 points to go along with 13 rebounds. However, he shot only 6-for-17 (35.3%) as Wembanyama dominated the interior. The sophomore's rim protection nearly helped him record a triple-double. He finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks.
After the Clippers secured a nine-point victory, Zubac touched on the difficulty of scoring against Wembanyama. According to the nine-year veteran, playing bully ball and attempting to dunk on him is the only way to avoid getting bested by his 8-foot wingspan.
"When he's in the paint, that's the only thing you can do against him. You've got to hit (his) body and try to go dunk everything," Zubac said. "He's going to block everything if you try to go float (over) him or hook him. So, you've just got to try to go through his chest."
Following Monday's contest, Wembanyama is averaging a league-leading 3.9 blocks per game. So, perhaps more players will adopt Zubac's strategy for scoring over the 2023 No. 1 pick.
Ivica Zubac on Clippers securing first home win at Intuit Dome with 26-point comeback against Victor Wembanyama's Spurs
The Clippers' home win over Victor Wembanyama and Co. marked their first at their newly opened $2 billion Intuit Dome after dropping their first four contests.
During his postgame interview, Ivica Zubac expressed apparent relief for his squad to get the monkey off its back.
"It's great. We were talking about it every time before every game," Zubac said.
The big man also quipped about LA securing its first home victory the hard way after trailing by 26 points.
"That's the Clippers way. We can't have it easy," Zubac said.
The Clippers (3-4) conclude their homestand on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers (1-5).
Also Read: Ja Morant reacts to his two 360 layup highlight surpassing Victor Wembanyama's viral dunk video as NBA’s most-watched clip