Victor Wembanyama strutted his stuff with 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, six blocked shots and a steal to help the San Antonio Spurs earn a resounding 117-105 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
San Antonio led by 13 points early in the fourth quarter before the Pacers pulled within 103-102 on a TJ McConnell jumper in the lane with 4:56 to play. But the Spurs had the answers down the stretch, scoring the next 10 points to fend off Indiana’s surge as they held on to win their second straight game.
This is only the fourth time this season that San Antonio has won back-to-back contests.
Malaki Branham added 18 points for the Spurs, with Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson scoring 17 each, Jeremy Sochan totaling 12 and Zach Collins scoring 11.
McConnell led the Pacers with a game-high 26 points, while Pascal Siakam added 21. Myles Turner produced 16 points and 10 rebounds, Bennedict Mathurin scored 13 points and Tyrese Haliburton scored 12. Indiana lost two games consecutive.
The Spurs sprinted out of the goal, taking a 19-7 lead when Vassell nailed a jumper at 4:50 of the first quarter. Indiana cut the deficit to eight points after McConnell’s jumper with 3:37 left in the period before San Antonio finished the quarter with a 26-16 lead.
McConnell kept up his blistering pace, as his pull-up jumper with 6:30 left in the second quarter brought the Pacers within 37-31. San Antonio rebuilt its advantage to 10 points three times in the period, the last on a Sochan layup at the 3:08 mark. Indiana pulled back, closing to within a point before Wembanyama made a 3-point basket to give the Spurs a 52-48 advantage at the break.
Wembanyama’s 15 points before halftime led all scorers, with Vassell adding 10. McConnell led the Pacers with 14 points in the first half while Siakam added 11 for Indiana.
Indiana took the lead on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter, with the explosion capped by Turner’s layup with 9:29 left. The Pacers led 63-60 before San Antonio went on an 11-0 run to get back in front. The Spurs led 86-77 heading into the final period. — Field media/Reuters
