He hit a pull-up three in double overtime to seal a Game 1 victory for the ages. 41 points, 24 rebounds, and a moment so reminiscent of Stephen Curry at his peak that the internet spent the next 24 hours building the comparison clip by clip. The narrative machine cranked up immediately: Victor Wembanyama versus the two-time defending champions, the young king against the machine. By Game 3, however, a different story was dominating, one about physicality, dirty play, and whether Oklahoma City was targeting the Spurs’ franchise player.

Charles Barkley watched every minute of it, and on Inside the NBA, he had seen enough of the discourse. “I think we need to all pray for Wemby,” Barkley said, with the unmistakable cadence of a man who has zero patience for the argument he is about to dismantle. “Because he can’t play too many minutes, they’re gonna kill him out there.”

He continued. “You’re joking? I am damn sure joking. Because you guys, … they’re pissing me off. I’m watching the whole games. They ain’t playing dirty. No. And like, this is some of the softest fouls I ever seen in my life. You got these clowns on TV talking about, ‘oh, they’re gonna hurt poor Wemby.’ Are you kidding me? It drives me crazy watching these shows.” The target of Barkley’s frustration was the wave of commentary suggesting Oklahoma City’s physicality was crossing a line. A narrative that had built steam after Wembanyama took contact repeatedly in Games 1 and 2, and that Inside the NBA just torched in roughly 30 seconds.

The Frenchman erupted for 41 points and 24 rebounds in a double-overtime Game 1 victory before the Thunder responded in Game 2 on the strength of 30 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Wembanyama scored 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting in Game 3 Friday in San Antonio, but Oklahoma City’s bench scored 76 points as the Spurs couldn’t keep up and lost 123-108, giving the Thunder a 2-1 lead in the series. Jared McCain scored 24 points as he paced the Thunder bench, Jaylin Williams chipped in 18 and Alex Caruso added 15. That Alex Caruso, the one who was specifically called out as a matchup issue for Wembanyama.

Shaquille O’Neal followed Barkley with a message that was less about refuting the dirty-play narrative and more about raising the standard. “You’re playing against a great championship team with great others, you can’t let the others get involved. That’s how they win games,” O’Neal said. “And I’m gonna need Wemby to do more. Game 1, he had 41 and 24, they won. Game 2, 21 and 26, it’s not enough.”

O’Neal’s prescription was specific and tactical: “When Alex Caruso is on you, I do not want to see a turnaround. He has to be aggressive, super aggressive, so they panic with him.” Caruso was indeed one of the primary defenders assigned to Wembanyama in Game 3, using his length and positioning to force the Spurs’ center into less comfortable spots rather than clear post entries. The turnaround jumper, Shaq’s most despised shot, was the retreat move that concedes the physical advantage a 7-foot-4 player should never have to concede against a 6-foot-5 guard.

The Series That Is Becoming Wembanyama’s Defining Test

Down 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday, the Spurs face the same Oklahoma City team that swept its first two playoff series without allowing a single opponent to win a game. Barkley’s larger point, that the physicality complaints are a distraction from the real issue, is backed by the box score. The difference in Game 3 was not what happened to Victor Wembanyama; it was the Thunder bench combining for 76 points, with four players in double figures from the reserve unit alone. A team cannot pray its way past that kind of depth.

What O’Neal is calling for, Wemby imposing his will so forcefully that Oklahoma City has to commit two or three bodies to stop him, is the only answer that forces the Thunder’s bench production to matter less. Game 4 tips off Sunday at 8 PM ET on NBC. The prayer, for now, is that the 22-year-old answers the call himself.