The San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Toronto Raptors, 110-107, on Thursday to extend their NBA-best winning run to 10 games.
Crucially, San Antonio beat the Raptors even with Victor Wembanyama having a tough night. Wemby, an MVP candidate this season, was held to just 12 points on 3-for-12 shooting. He did have 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 blocks. Stepping up for the big man was a cadre of Spurs, starting with Devin Vassell, who fired a team-high 21 on 5-for-6 shooting from the arc. De’Aaron Fox added 20, Dylan Harper tallied 15 off the bench, and Stephon Castle had 13.
Brandon Ingram had 20 points and 11 boards for the Raptors but missed what would’ve been the game-tying triple. Immanuel Quickley also had 20, while Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl added 15 apiece.
Spurs Threatening a Takeover
With the win, the Spurs are now just two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference and three games away from catching the league-leading Detroit Pistons. Crucially, San Antonio continues to create significant separation from the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves, who currently occupy seeds three through five in the West.
Wembanyama is obviously leading the way with per-game averages of 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.8 blocks. But as they showed against the Raptors, the Spurs aren’t just all Wemby. Vassell is averaging 14.2 points on 36.9% from downtown and is coming on strong, while the backcourt of Fox (19.1 points, 6.3 assists) and Stephon Castle (16.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists) has been dynamite all season. Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, and Keldon Johnson are all solid as well and give the Spurs depth.
The Spurs will look to continue their hot streak on Saturday when they face the Brooklyn Nets. Toronto will try to bounce back on Monday when it takes on the Washington Wizards.
