Victor Wembanyama had a career-high 52 points (seven during a 12-0 run across the first and second quarters, on a dunk, a layup and three free throws) and 24 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 for their sixth straight win.
Wembanyama’s free throw put the Spurs ahead for good with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks had the ball down one after a timeout, but Kyrie Irving missed a 16-foot turnaround fadeaway with 2.5 seconds left that would have put them ahead.
During clutch time, the Spurs outscored the Mavericks 9-8. Wembanyama scored seven of the Spurs’ 9 on 3-of-5 shooting. He made his first 18 free throws and missed four of his last five.
Dylan Harper scored 21 points (16 in the paint) on 9-of-15 shooting.
For the Mavericks, Irving scored 29 points with five 3-pointers but made 9 of 27 shots, and Naji Marshall added 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench. P.J. Washington had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Marshall scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks had three 20-point scorers.
The Mavericks outscored the Spurs 38-10 off the bench. The Spurs’ starters outscored the Mavericks 34-22 in 15 minutes together.