Spurs’ Mamukelashvili makes history in 19 minutes

SAN ANTONIO — Bewildered and in a state of disbelief, San Antonio Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili walked back-and-forth half-dressed near his locker Wednesday night repeating the same words after his team’s 120-105 win over the New York Knicks.

“I don’t know what f—ing happened,” Mamukelashvili said. “I don’t know what f—ing happened.”

With good friend and rapper Flavor Flav hyping a crowd of 18,521 that gleefully flooded Frost Bank Center with MVP chants, Mamukelashvili made NBA history by scoring the most points — a career-high 34 — in a game when playing fewer than 20 minutes since 1951-52, when minutes became official.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Mamukelashvili said. “I just can’t explain how I feel right now. I feel like I’m in a dream. I manifested and prayed for it. I just waited for this day. I really had an out-of-body experience for a little bit there. I was like, ‘Is this really happening?'”

Spurs teammates made sure of it, mobbing Mamukelashvili on the floor at the final buzzer. Dressed in a red T-shirt with his trademark clock dangling from his neck, Flavor Flav made it even more real by crashing the forward’s on-court postgame interview to say, “I don’t care what nobody says. My man is on fiiiiiiiirrrreee!”

Sitting one locker over from Mamukelashvili minutes after all the pandemonium on the court, teammate Jeremy Sochan asked half-jokingly whether “we can get Flavor Flav to stay” in San Antonio for a while.

Averaging 8.9 minutes for the season, Mamukelashvili didn’t enter Wednesday’s game until 55 seconds into the second quarter. The 25-year-old wasted little time making his presence felt. Mamukelashvili scored his first bucket on a tip-in off a Blake Wesley miss. Then, he drilled a 27-footer off a Stephon Castle assist to give the Spurs a seven-point lead.

He finished the quarter with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from long range with 7 rebounds and an assist as San Antonio walked off the floor at intermission leading 67-43.

“13-of-14 from the field, 7-for-7 from 3, it would be ridiculous to say that was expected in 19 minutes and 26 seconds of opportunity,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s a really good shooter, and you’re just waiting for him to have one of those games. I think that probably exceeded some of the thought of having one of those games. But he comes to work every day. He’s the most consistent person, especially when you talk about the role that he has. That’s why you can hear a little bit of the guys [in the locker room] and their feeling for him.”

Mamukelashvili didn’t play in the third quarter. But in the final frame, he lit up the Knicks for 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range to go with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Mamukelashvili heated up so much that teammate Chris Paul started calling actions down the stretch to get his teammate more looks.

“Luckily, I’ve played for a while and sort of know the art of getting guys shots,” Paul said. “Mamu is an amazing teammate. He comes in and works hard every day, cheers guys on, always in a good mood, good attitude. When he’s shooting the ball like that, you just try to find the guy.”

Mamukelashvili became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot 90% from the field, 100% on 3-pointers and 100% on free throws in a game, joining Tyrese Haliburton (2022), Gary Payton (1995) and Charles Barkley. He also ranks as the third Spur to knock down 7-of-7 or better on 3-pointers, joining Matt Bonner (2010) and Steve Smith (2001).

The historic night couldn’t have come at a better time for Mamukelashvili, who had just flown in his father, Zurab, from New Jersey to watch Wednesday’s game with other family members. Flavor Flav, who celebrated his birthday on March 16, has been a friend of Mamukelashvili’s “for a long time,” the forward said. Mamukelashvili and Flavor Flav met through the latter’s financial adviser.

Flavor Flav even came to see Mamukelashvili in 2021 at his first NBA summer league.

“He was telling me, ‘I’m going to come out,'” Mamukelashvili said. “He called me and was like, ‘For my birthday, I’m coming to San Antonio.’ So, I was like, ‘OK, you ain’t going to have fun there.'”

He did, though, thanks to a career night from his friend.

“I’m trying to get better. I’m trying to establish myself,” Mamukelashvili said. “I’m trying to show everybody that I belong. I’ll just keep taking strides towards that. I’m just so happy I have a support team behind me: my girl, my friends, my teammates, my family. Once it sinks in, you’re kind of like, ‘OK, I really worked for this and it’s happening.’ It was an unbelievable feeling.”

ESPN Research contributed to this report.