Spurs 112, Mavericks 111: Victor Wembanyama Posts Career Highs of 52 Points and 24 Rebounds

Victor Wembanyama produced the biggest game of his career on Wednesday night, Nov. 4, and the San Antonio Spurs needed every bit of it. He set career highs with 52 points and 24 rebounds and added eight blocks as the Spurs held off the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 at Frost Bank Center, the Associated Press reported.

Dallas came back from 19 points down and had the last shot. Kyrie Irving missed a contested 15-foot turnaround jumper with about three seconds left, and San Antonio held on for its sixth straight win.

Mavericks vs. Spurs: the final score

• Final: Spurs 112, Mavericks 111
• By quarter: San Antonio 32-36-22-22; Dallas 26-25-29-31
• Halftime: Spurs 68, Mavericks 51
• Records: Spurs 6-2, Mavericks 4-4

Victor Wembanyama stats: the full line

According to the ESPN box score, Wembanyama played 34 minutes and finished with:

• 52 points on 16-of-28 shooting (1-of-8 from 3, 19-of-23 free throws)
• 24 rebounds (9 offensive)
• 8 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists, 1 turnover
• Plus-23 in his minutes

He had 29 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the first half alone. AP said that made him the first player since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in 1996-97 to post at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half. At one point late in the first half he blocked three shots in 13 seconds on the same Dallas possession, rejecting Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington.

How Dallas got back into it

Wembanyama scored 10 of San Antonio’s first 12 points and had 15 points and nine rebounds after one quarter. When he sat three minutes into the second, Dallas went on a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 49-48, AP reported. San Antonio was minus-22 with backup center Luke Kornet on the floor in his 14 minutes, Pounding The Rock noted.

After the Spurs rebuilt the lead, Dallas outscored them 60-44 after halftime. Naji Marshall provided a spark off the bench with 22 points, most of them in the second half, per Pounding The Rock.

The final minute

With the game tied at 111, Irving missed a 27-foot pull-up with 43 seconds left. P.J. Washington then fouled Wembanyama with 24.2 seconds to go. Wembanyama missed the first free throw and made the second for the winning point. AP noted he was 1-of-4 at the line in the final 2:10. He also had two putbacks in the final 2:39.

On the last possession, De’Aaron Fox stayed with Irving, whose 15-footer missed. Dylan Harper grabbed the rebound as time ran out.

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs player stats

San Antonio Spurs - Victor Wembanyama: 52 points, 24 rebounds, 8 blocks - Dylan Harper: 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting - Stephon Castle: 17 points, 10 rebounds (6-of-20 shooting) - De’Aaron Fox: 10 points, 4 assists

Dallas Mavericks - Kyrie Irving: 29 points on 9-of-27 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists - Naji Marshall: 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting - P.J. Washington: 21 points, 10 rebounds - Cooper Flagg: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists - Daniel Gafford: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks in 18 minutes

A strange shooting night for San Antonio

The Spurs won despite going 5-of-36 from 3-point range and shooting about 39% overall, Pounding The Rock reported. They made up for it inside, outscoring Dallas 62-40 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 61-50, with 22 offensive boards.

What’s next

• Mavericks: host Utah on Friday night
• Spurs: at Sacramento on Friday night

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