Victor Wembanyama set a career high with 24 rebounds, then sank the winning free throw with 24.2 seconds left for the last of his career-best 52 points as the host San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 on Wednesday to post their sixth straight victory.
The Spurs led by 19 points early in the third quarter before Dallas pulled to within two with 8:17 to play and then took the lead at 103-100 on P.J. Washington’s 3-pointer with 5:38 left.
The lead seesawed from there. Dallas’ Naji Marshall tied it at 111 with a jumper from beyond the arc with 1:41 remaining, and Wembanyama’s deciding free throw put the Spurs back on top.
The Mavericks called a timeout to set up a final shot, but Kyrie Irving missed a contested turnaround jumper in the lane with 2.5 seconds left, and time ran out.
Wembanyama also had eight blocked shots in the win. Dylan Harper added 21 points, Stephon Castle had 17 and De’Aaron Fox scored 10 for San Antonio.
Irving led Dallas with 29 points while Marshall had 22 off the bench, Washington racked up 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Cooper Flagg contributed 19 points and 10 boards. The Mavericks have dropped two straight games.
Wembanyama finished the first period with a flurry, converting a three-point play and then hammering down a rousing dunk to give the Spurs a 32-26 edge after 12 minutes of play. San Antonio led 48-36 after a Harper 3-pointer at the 7:41 mark of the second quarter before Dallas reeled off an 11-1 run that was capped by a dunk by Daniel Gafford that pulled the Mavericks to within a point.
The rest of the second quarter belonged to the Spurs and Wembanyama. San Antonio finished the half with a 19-3 spurt, with its all-star center racking up 29 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to help San Antonio to a 68-51 lead at the break.
Wembanyama is the first player in the past 30 seasons to have at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in one half of play. His scoring output included 15 of 15 free throws and was achieved in just 16:37 of court time.
Harper added 13 points for San Antonio before halftime. Irving led the Mavericks with 17 points at the half, and Washington hit for 13.
