The Spurs secured a decisive road victory over the Rockets, led by Victor Wembanyama’s impressive 28 points and 16 rebounds.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 111-99 on the road. Victor Wembanyama led the team with 28 points and 16 rebounds. The Spurs are now 2-1 versus Houston this season.
Keldon Johnson finished with 17 points and five assists off the bench. Harrison Barnes added nine points. Julian Champagnie scored two points, and Devin Vassell finished with five points. Dylan Harper scored 16 points, and Stephon Castle recorded 16 points and six assists. De’Aaron Fox added 18 points.
The Spurs are 32-15 and will next visit the Hornets on Saturday night.
Here’s a sample of what the Spurs and Rockets said after the game.
Mitch Johnson:
“I thought he’s (Harper) been trending for the last few games. Obviously, the box score jumped out when he went on a run, but I think he’s done a great job of playing the right way, playing with pace, and being aggressive, but also keeping the games simple. And it’s amazing with some of the guys on our team, they do that, and their talent jumps off the page, and it looks amazing.”
So, I mean any challenges that the coaches give me on that end, I kind of accept it, so I feel like I did a great job. Team defending, I mean, with those guys (Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun) you can’t guard them really one-on-one. So, we had great communication behind me when I was guarding those guys, so I was able to get a few stops in the fourth.”
Wembanyama:
“It never really felt like it was a disaster during the game, even when we were down double digits. It felt like we were patient. We didn’t try to rush it or overreact because we do need to react, which we did.”
Head coach Ime Udoka:
“Lost some momentum there, even in the end of the second quarter. But they cross-matched some guys and put the bigger body on Amen (Thompson) and smaller on Alpi (Alperen Sengun). I think we got too stagnant trying to hunt certain matchups. They upped the pressure and kind of got us in our spots.”