Keldon Johnson scored 27 points and Victor Wembanyama recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Los Angeles Lakers’ three-game winning streak with a 107-91 victory on Wednesday night.
Despite connecting on just 4 of 25 from three-point range, the Spurs moved into second place in the Western Conference behind a balanced attack. Stephon Castle added 15 points and De’Aaron Fox contributed 14.
The Lakers were without LeBron James, sidelined due to arthritis and sciatica, as well as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who missed the game with calf strains. Luka Doncic carried much of the load for Los Angeles, posting 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 86th career regular-season triple-double, ranking seventh all-time. Doncic played nearly the entire first half, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the opening 24 minutes.
Jake LaRavia scored 16 points and Jaxson Hayes added 10 as the only other Lakers in double figures. Hayes showcased one of the few highlight plays for Los Angeles, finishing a reverse dunk off a half-court alley-oop pass from Doncic.
San Antonio pulled away with an 11-4 run midway through the third quarter to take a 71-59 lead, fueled by nine points from Johnson and Castle. Wembanyama, returning from a two-game absence due to a hyperextended left knee, posted his 15th double-double of the season after scoring 30 points in just 20 minutes in Tuesday’s loss at Memphis.
Both teams were playing the second night of a back-to-back, and the Spurs overcame early defensive pressure from the Lakers, who disrupted several alley-oop attempts by Castle and Luke Kornet.
Up next:
Lakers host Milwaukee on Friday.
Spurs visit Boston on Saturday.
