Victor Wembanyama totaled 31 points and 14 rebounds and keyed a late run as the host San Antonio Spurs beat the Brooklyn Nets 118-107 on Sunday afternoon to stay undefeated.
San Antonio has captured its first three games in a season for the first time since 2019-20 while the Nets remain winless in the young campaign.
The Spurs led by 21 points at halftime and by 26 three minutes into the third quarter before Brooklyn rallied to gain the front early in the fourth. Rookie Dylan Harper carried San Antonio back to the lead with a three-point play and a driving layup, the latter of which came with 6:59 to play put the Spurs up 100-97.
Brooklyn never regained the lead but was down by just a point with 2:47 to play before the Spurs made a final 10-0 run to put the game away. Keldon Johnson had a reverse layup, Wembanyama hit a free throw and Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell drove the lane for layups, with Vassell’s coming after a steal. Wembanyama closed out the decisive surge with a cutting dunk and a technical free throw.
Harper added 20 points and eight assists for the Spurs in the win, with Johnson scoring 19, Vassell hitting for 16 and Julian Champagnie and Castle tallying 13 points apiece.
Cam Thomas poured in 40 points to carry the Nets but had little help. Michael Porter Jr. added 16 for Brooklyn and Nic Claxton went for 10.
San Antonio led 31-24 after one period of play as Johnson scored 11 points off the bench.
The Spurs were up by 18 when Wembanyama blocked two shots on the same Brooklyn possession. He then jogged up the floor to take a pass near half-court and canned a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the key to grant the Spurs a 69-48 lead at the break.
Thomas led all scorers with 21 points before halftime while Porter added 12 for the Nets. Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 18 points and eight rebounds, with Johnson and Harper adding 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Spurs pushed their lead to as many as 26 points during the third quarter before they went cold from the floor, missing seven straight shots and committing four turnovers over the ensuing six-plus minutes to allow Brooklyn to claw to within 84-73. The Nets pared their deficit to 88-81 after a Thomas pullup three to end the period.
