NBA: Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell lead Spurs past Thunder

Victor Wembanyama racked up 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks and Devin Vassell also scored 28 points as the San Antonio Spurs rang up a 132-118 win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The Spurs led by 12 points in the third quarter but by just two heading into the fourth. The teams traded the lead four times in the final period before San Antonio took charge for good on Vassell’s 3-pointer with 7:19 to play.

Oklahoma City was still within three points when Tre Jones and Wembanyama canned back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter with 2:10 left that pushed the Spurs’ margin to 127-118. San Antonio cruised the finish line, ending a five-game losing streak.

Jeremy Sochan added 21 points for San Antonio, with Tre Jones scoring 17, Zach Collins hitting for 13 and Keldon Johnson racking up 10 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points while Jalen Williams added 26, Chet Holmgren scored 23 and Isaiah Joe tallied 15 points off the bench. Oklahoma City had a six-game winning streak snapped.

The game went back and forth in the opening minutes with the Thunder forging a 31-24 lead after Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer at the 3:38 mark. San Antonio roared back to knot it at 31 when Vassell scored on a cutting layup with 1:58 to play in the period, and the game was tied at 37 after 12 minutes of play.

The Spurs continued their surge into the early second quarter as Jones’ jumper with 6:45 to play in the half garnered San Antonio a 54-46 advantage. Oklahoma City cut its deficit to as few as four points twice in the period before a driving layup by Gilgeous-Alexander with 49.2 seconds left brought the Thunder to within 69-64 at the break.

Holmgren led all scorers before halftime with 19 points, with Gilgeous-Alexander and Joe adding 12 each for Oklahoma City. Wembanyama had 14 to lead the Spurs at the half while Vassell added 13 and Johnson hit for 10.

San Antonio kept on the accelerator, pushing its lead to 94-82 after a 3-pointer by Julian Champagnie with 3:45 to play in the third quarter. Williams scored the final five points of the period, including going coast-to-coast for a three-point play with five seconds remaining, to bring the Thunder back to 98-96 heading into the final period.

–Field Level Media/Reuters