SAN ANTONIO – Victor Wembanyama’s dazzling highlights in his first matchup against superstar Anthony Davis weren’t enough to overcome Los Angeles as the San Antonio Spurs dropped their 20th game of the season with a 122-119 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night.
The Spurs’ loss extends their losing streak to 18 games, the longest in franchise history.
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San Antonio was outscored 34-26 in an unusual opening quarter.
The Spurs’ starting five was made up of Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Wembanyama. Head coach Gregg Popovich utilized the entire bench as its own lineup, creating some interesting matchups against the Lakers’ talent roster.
Before the intermission, Wembanyama and Davis exchanged punches, making for some jaw-dropping basketball.
Davis posterized Wembanyama with just under four minutes left in the third quarter, extending LA’s lead to 53-38. The French rookie answered with a dunk of his own over Davis with 45 seconds left on the first half clock.
Then, Wembanayama had an alley-oop dunk off the transition to bring the Spurs within 11 points on the scoreboard. Davis answered back with a layup, but Wembanayama had the final say, blocking AD’s layup attempt as time expired.
That final sequence helped the No. 1 overall pick up his blocks per game average to 2.8, the most by a teenager in NBA history.
Wembanyama finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks. Davis ended with 37 points and 10 rebounds.
The Spurs were outscored 29-24 in the second and third quarters.
And, in the final frame, San Antonio trailed 121-119 with 1.1 seconds left. The team was forced to foul, and Warren graduate Tauren Prince secured the win, making one of two free throws for the final margin, 122-119.
San Antonio and LA rematch again on Friday at 6:30 p.m. inside Frost Bank Center. The Lakers’ LeBron James was not active in Wednesday’s contest and remains a game-time decision for Friday.
