Lakers 122-119 Spurs (14 Dec, 2023) Game Recap

SAN ANTONIO — — Anthony Davis had 37 points and 10 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers held off Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio 122-119 on Wednesday night, extending the Spurs' franchise record to 18.

Wembanyama had 30 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for San Antonio, which hasn't won since Nov. 2. Wembanyama is the first rookie with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a game since Spurs superstar Tim Duncan in 1998.

“I think it will be better when we win,” Wembanyama said.

The Lakers were without LeBron James, with the four-time MVP missing the first of two straight games in San Antonio due to a left calf injury. The teams will meet again Friday evening.

The Lakers also nearly lost Davis in the opening seconds when he rolled his left ankle following a spin move against Wembanyama. Davis refused to come out, even on the second night of a row for Los Angeles.

“Giving my team a chance to win,” Davis said. “I know that when I'm on the field, my team has a better chance of winning than me when I'm off because of my defensive presence and my offensive presence. We try to win basketball games.

The Spurs almost took one from the Lakers, champions of the NBA In-Season tournament. San Antonio outscored Los Angeles 45-30 in the final quarter.

After the Spurs trailed by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, Wembanyama's 3-pointer to Davis cut the Lakers' lead to 115-110 with 1:29 left. Wembanyama made one of two free throws to make it 117-116 with 22 seconds remaining.

“(Wembanyama) doesn’t stop competing,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “When the game was on the line, he made some big plays for them.”

Wembanyama fouled for the first time in his career after stretching his leg on a missed 3-point shot with 8.8 seconds remaining and the Lakers led 119-116.

“I don’t think it comes down to a question of play or tactics or nothing,” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s like playing hard and playing smart. In the first half we had neither. At least if we don't make shots or can't get to the basket on offense, we have to make stops.

Keldon Johnson added 28 points and Malaki Branham had 16 for the Spurs.

Taurean Prince added 17 points to help the Lakers win for the fifth time in six games. Austin Reaves had 15 points and D'Angelo Russell had 12 points and 10 assists.

“Once the momentum was on their side, it looked like they pushed it all the way,” Ham said. “But we held on. We emptied it. Obviously we're happy with the result, the 'W', but we definitely need to improve in some areas, and we will.

Davis rolled his left ankle on the Lakers' first possession, writhing in pain on the baseline after missing a layup attempt against Wembanyama. The Lakers quickly called a timeout to check on Davis, who took advantage of the break to stretch and run to relieve the injury.

Davis shot 10 of 15 from the field while scoring 24 points in the first half. His points included bullying Wembanyama out of position under the rim to clear space for a monster one-handed dunk over the rookie with 3:57 left in the first half.

“We were sloppy and tried to do things quickly,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “We didn't do anything that would please the basketball gods (in the first half). In the second half, they competed and executed to win. I'm happy. I want to see how this plays out through Friday.

Wembanyama would get some revenge in the final minute, pulling away from Davis under the rim for a one-handed slam. The French No. 1 pick had two blocks and two dunks in the last 45 seconds of the first half.

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