NBA: Wembanyama powers Spurs past Nets in overtime

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) scores against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN, Texas — Victor Wembanyama had 33 points and 16 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs overcame 31 points by Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas and beat the Nets 122-115 in overtime Sunday night to snap a three-game skid.

Wembanyama accounted for four points and two blocks in overtime as the Spurs used a 12-5 scoring edge to seal the win.

“I love it,” Wembanyama said. “I think those moments are where we progress the most, where we get better rather than any other moment in the game. So, it’s really, really enjoyable, especially when we win.”

Wembanyama added seven assists and seven blocks while collecting his 36th double-double in 60 games. The 7-foot-4 rookie center has five games of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists.

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“They made some clutch shots,” Brooklyn coach Kevin Ollie said. “They made the right plays when you just kind of (need) to make the right plays. They did an unbelievable job.”

Wembanyama blocked Dennis Schroder’s layup against the glass to keep the Spurs within a point. He followed with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Devin Vassell to put San Antonio up 116-115 with 38 seconds remaining in overtime.

“Dev made the perfect read, and it just shows our progress,” Wembanyama said.

Vassell finished with 25 points and eight assists and Keldon Johnson added 24 points for San Antonio.

Schroder finished with 19 points and Mikal Bridges added 14 points, including three in a low-scoring overtime for both teams.

Keldon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 64 seconds remaining in regulation put the Spurs up 110-107. Johnson’s 3 closed a 17-4 run, including four straight points from Wembanyama to tie the game.

Schroder ended the run with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 110 with 16 seconds remaining. Schroder’s 3 was sandwiched between missed long-distance shots by Vassell and Wembanyama which could have won the game in regulation.

San Antonio split its two-game set in Austin. The Spurs were in the Texas capital city to broaden their reach financially and build their fan base. The Spurs played in front of two sellouts and 32,280 in attendance, including a Moody Center-record 16,223 on Friday.

“Every win is important,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “I don’t care if it’s in Timbuktu.”

With that, Popovich said the Spurs will play in Paris next season, although the NBA has not released that information.

Brooklyn was without Ben Simmons, who this week had back surgery for the second time in three years.

Brooklyn (26-41) is four games behind Atlanta for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and the final berth in the play-in tournament. The Hawks were to take on the Los Angeles Clippers later Sunday.

The Nets lost 121-100 to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

“They’re disappointed, but those guys are not making excuses,” Ollie said. “No back-to-back and back-to-back, no excuses. They are disappointed. They want to win, and they gave it all they had out there.”

San Antonio (15-53) must finish at least 5-9 in its last 14 games to avoid matching the worst record in franchise history — 20-62 set in 1997.

“There’s always steps,” Wembanyama said. “Looking back and looking at the season, I can see our progression, but also my progression. Even though it feels like it’s little by little every game, when you do it every day after a whole season it adds up to something big.”

Wembanyama opened the game 3 for 5 from the field after going 4 for 12 in scoring 17 points against Denver in Friday’s loss. He finished 14 for 26.

Brooklyn opened and closed strongly, building an 11-point lead in the first and a 10-point advantage in the final quarter. San Antonio chipped away at the lead both times.

Keldon Johnson made his first four 3-pointers to keep the Spurs’ deficit manageable. He finished 5 for 8 on 3-pointers.

“Most teams have four or five guys on the court that can shoot it, so, we’ve been a little bit behind the curve on that probably,” Popovich said. “But to have Keldon do that for a period of time really buoyed us and kept us in the game.”

NEXT SCHEDULE

Nets: Host New Orleans on Tuesday night.

Spurs: Host Dallas on Tuesday night.