Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points, 14 rebounds, and a career-high 10 blocks in his second triple-double, Devin Vassell added 25 points, and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Toronto Raptors 122-99 on Monday night to stop their seven-game losing streak.
Wembanyama made 10 of 14 shots, dished out five assists, and stole two in 29 minutes to help the Spurs win for the first time since Jan. 27 against Minnesota.
“I felt great today,” Wembanyama stated. “Great rhythm; started the game well. I suppose it is just the NBA, you know. We’ve had ups and downs in terms of shape, but today was a good day.”
Wembanyama’s previous career high in blocks was eight, recorded against Memphis on November 18. He leads the NBA in that area.
“He did a little bit of everything,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich explained. “Clearly, he’s an all-around talented player. He has a fantastic feel for the game, and it shows in a variety of ways, including passing, decision-making, and shot blocking.
It was the first triple-double with blocks in Atlanta since Clint Capela’s 13 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 blocks against Minnesota on January 22, 2021. That was also the last time someone in the NBA blocked ten shots in a game.
“I guess it’s not on the scouting report that he can block a shot,” Vassell remarked of Wembanyama. “I guess they’ll learn one of these days.”
Wembanyama is only the fourth rookie to record a triple-double with 10 blocks since 1973-74, and the first since David Robinson in 1990. He is the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon on April 13, 1996, to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks, and five assists in the same game.
Jeremy Sochan scored 16 points and Keldon Johnson added 12 as San Antonio dominated from start to finish, snapping a four-game road losing run.
Tre Jones had ten assists for the Spurs. San Antonio finished with 37, one shy of matching their season high.
Gradey Dick had 18 points, Kelly Olynyk had 17, and RJ Barrett had 13. The Raptors had won their previous six meetings with San Antonio. Toronto has lost 14 of 18.
Raptors All-Stars Scottie Barnes, who had his third triple-double of the season in Saturday’s home loss to Cleveland, had nine rebounds and nine assists against the Spurs while shooting 3 for 15 and scoring seven points.
“That was not the standard that we expect,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic remarked.
Barnes also angered his coach by leaving the bench in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
“This is not the competitive spirit we want,” Rajakovic explained.
Wembanyama blocked Toronto’s first shot of the game, followed by a 3-pointer and an alley-oop dunk as the Spurs went on a 10-0 run to lead 34-28 after one quarter. In the first quarter, the rookie scored nine points, pulled down four rebounds, and blocked three.
“I thought we fed off of Vic in the beginning,” Vassell explained. “He was really carrying us through that first quarter.”
Vassell scored 13 points in the second quarter and Wembanyama added 10 as San Antonio extended its lead to 67-50 at halftime.
Wembanyama went 7-for-8 in the first half. He made both of his 3-point attempts as San Antonio went 7 for 13 from distance in the first two quarters.
Wembanyama blocked six shots in the third quarter, as the Spurs outscored Toronto 36-25 to lead 103-75 entering the fourth.
