AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Victor Wembaneyama had 33 points and 16 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Nets 122-115 in overtime on Sunday night, snapping their third straight loss and beating Brooklyn's Cam Thomas' 31 points.
Wenbanyama had four points and two blocks in overtime, and the Spurs won by a 12-5 score.
“I really like it,” Wenbanyama said. “I think those moments, more than any other moment in the game, are the ones where we progress the most and get better. So it's really, really fun, especially when we win.”
Wenbanyama added seven assists and seven blocks for his 36th double-double in 60 games. The 7-foot-4 rookie center has recorded at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in five games.
Wenby put together a historic performance in the overtime win over the Spurs vs. Nets!
33 Points | 15 Revs | 7 AST | 7 Blocks | 14-26 FG
Victor Wembaneyama is the first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points, at least 15 rebounds, at least 5 assists, and at least 5 blocks in a single game, and achieved a 50% FG shooting rate. pic.twitter.com/W5rtw2RvDT
— NBA (@NBA) March 18, 2024
“They made some clutch shots,” Brooklyn coach Kevin Ollie said. “When we needed to make the right play, they made the right play. They did an unbelievable job.”
Wenbanyama blocked Dennis Schroder's layup off the glass, bringing the Spurs within one point. He followed with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Devin Vassell, giving San Antonio a 116-115 lead with 38 seconds left in overtime.
“Dev made a perfect read and it really shows our progress,” Wenbanyama said.
For San Antonio, Vassell had 25 points and eight assists, and Keldon Johnson added 24 points.
Schroder had 19 points and Mikal Bridges added 14 points, including three points in overtime, which was a low score for both teams.
Keldon Johnson's 3-pointer with 64 seconds left in regulation gave the Spurs a 110-107 lead. Johnson's three points tied the score with a 17-4 run that included Wenbanyama's four consecutive points.
Schroder hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to tie the score at 110. Schröder's three points were sandwiched between mistakes from long range shots by Vassell and Wembaneyama that could have won the game in regulation.
San Antonio split the two-game set in Austin. The Spurs were coming to the Texas capital to expand their reach financially and build a fan base. The Spurs played in front of two sellouts and 32,280 fans, including a Moody Center record 16,223 on Friday.
“Every win is important,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don’t care if it’s in Timbuktu or not.”
In response, Popovich said the Spurs will play in Paris next season, although the NBA has not released that information.
Brooklyn was without Ben Simmons, who underwent back surgery for the second time in three years this week.
Brooklyn (26-41) is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four games behind Atlanta, and has the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Hawks were scheduled to play the Los Angeles Clippers later Sunday.
On Saturday night, the Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, 121-100.
“They're disappointed, but they're not making excuses,” Olly said. “Two in a row, two in a row, there's no excuse. They're disappointed. They want to win and they gave it their all.”
San Antonio (15-53) needs to finish at least 5-9 in its final 14 games to avoid matching the franchise's worst record of 20-62, set in 1997. .
“There are always stages,” Wenbanyama said. “When I look back at the season, I see not only our progress, but my own progress. Even if it feels like a little bit from game to game, when you keep doing it day by day after the whole season is over, it adds up to big things. Masu.”
Wenbangyama scored 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting in Friday's loss to Denver and opened the season by going 3-of-5 from the field. He finished 14-for-26.
Brooklyn was strong from start to finish, building an 11-point lead in the first quarter and a 10-point advantage in the final quarter. San Antonio chipped away at the lead both times.
Keldon Johnson made his first four 3-pointers and was able to keep the Spurs from trailing. He made 5 of 8 3-point shots.
“Most teams have four or five guys on the court that can shoot, so we probably fell a little behind in that regard,” Popovich said. “But having Keldon do that for a period of time really fueled us and kept us in the game.”
