Sandro Mamukelashvili said he had an “out of body experience” after creating NBA history in the San Antonio Spurs’ 120-105 win over the New York Knicks.
The Georgian scored the most points in a game, 34, for any player who spent less than 20 minutes on court as he tore the Knicks apart in the second and final quarters.
Sandro Mamukelashvili is going OFF ‼️
A career-high 34 PTS on 13-14 shooting and 7-7 from three… in only 19 minutes played 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5tPN0LQrU5
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2025
He ended up shooting 13-of-14 from the field and was 7-of-7 from three-point range.
“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?’
“I’m trying to get better. I’m trying to establish myself. 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.”
Flavor Flav joins the party
Mamukelashvili’s efforts were surreal enough but the night took another unexpected twist when it was discovered the 25-year-old had an unlikely friendship with Flavor Flav.
The forward’s on-court interview was even interrupted by the rapper, who said: “I don’t care what nobody says. My man is on fiiiiiiiirrrreee!”
Mamukelashvili’s efforts surpassed the expectations of Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson, although he was delighted a regular squad member was getting his moment in the sun.
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.”
