Victor Wembanyama filled up the stat sheet with 25 points, eight rebounds, four steals and five blocks to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 112-103 win over the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The game was originally scheduled to begin at 3:12 p.m. CST but was delayed twice, first to 6 p.m. and finally to 8:12 local time, because of delays on the Spurs’ charter flight out of snowbound Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday and then a mechanical issue on Sunday morning. The Spurs did not arrive in San Antonio until 3:25 p.m. Sunday.
The Spurs were none the worse for the wear in the second part of a road-home back-to-back that opened with a loss Saturday to the host Hornets. San Antonio was up 86-79 after three quarters on Sunday and never let Orlando back into the game. The Spurs’ advantage was 100-87 after Devin Vassell’s jumper with 6:30 to play and then to 17 points, 110-93, on Wembanyama’s alley-oop dunk with 2:10 left.
Vassell contributed 16 points for San Antonio while Dylan Harper added 15 off the bench, Keldon Johnson and De’Aaron Fox hit for 14 points each and Julian Champagnie tallied 11. Fox also had 10 assists for the Spurs, who continued a recent trend of alternating between losses and wins in their last seven games.
Desmond Bane led Orlando with 25 points. Paolo Banchero added 19 points and 10 rebounds and Anthony Black hit for 11 points for the Magic.
San Antonio played without Stephon Castle (adductor tightness) while Franz Wagner missed the game for the Magic to rest his sprained left ankle.
Once the game did get underway, the Spurs rushed to the front, going up 33-15 when Harper canned a runner with 2 minutes to play in the first quarter. San Antonio led 37-21 after one period.
The Magic responded in a big way, closing their deficit 40-38 when Tristan da Silva’s floater at the 8:22 mark of the second period capped a 17-3 run. Orlando took the lead when Black hit a 3-pointer with 6:03 to play until halftime and eventually carried a 61-60 advantage into the break.
Fox’s 14 points before halftime led all scorers while Wembanyama and Harper had 10 points each for San Antonio. Banchero paced the Magic with 10 points in the half.
The Spurs quickly swept back to the front early in the third quarter, with Wembanyama’s dunk at the 8:29 mark giving San Antonio a 70-63 lead.
