Isaiah Hartenstein couldn’t stay on the floor in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 1 loss. In Game 2, he scored 10 points and collected 13 rebounds in a 122-113 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Hartenstein took on the defensive assignment of Victor Wembanyama for most of Game 2 and slowed him down. The Thunder big man’s physical play was a game-changer inside, even though he may have crossed the line.
Isaiah Hartenstein played like a classic NBA enforcer
Wembanyama put up 21 points and collected 17 rebounds, but that’s far fewer than his 41 and 25 in Game 1. Hartenstein slowed down Wembanyama by a strategy informally known as “fouling the hell out of him.”
Hartenstein repeatedly hooked Wembanyama’s arm, shoved and pulled him down, but picked up only four fouls in the process. It was a level of physicality that bothered Wemby and led to Hartenstein grabbing eight offensive rebounds. Occasionally, Wembanyama’s most effective offensive move was to put back his own misses.