Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points, hitting eight 3-pointers, and added 11 rebounds to lead the rising San Antonio Spurs to a 125-116 victory over the short-handed Boston Celtics on Tuesday in a battle between two of the top NBA teams.
Jaylen Brown, Boston’s leading scorer this season, had only eight points before being ejected from the game with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter, with the Celtics up by two.
The Spurs led by seven entering the fourth quarter but were only up 106-105 before Wembanyama delivered a powerful dunk followed by a 3-pointer, his eighth of the game, on back-to-back possessions, the latter with 5:57 remaining.
Those points marked the start of a 12-0 run that included two jumpers and a free throw by Devin Vassell, boosting San Antonio’s lead to 13 points. From there, the Spurs maintained their lead to secure their fifth straight victory and their 16th win in the last 17 games.
De’Aaron Fox added 25 points for the Spurs, with Stephon Castle hitting for 18 points, and Vassell 14.
Derrick White led the Celtics with 34 points while Jayson Tatum scored 24 in his third game back since tearing his right Achilles last May. Ron Harper Jr. added a career-high 22 points while Sam Hauser had 11. Boston’s two-game winning streak was snapped.
The teams exchanged the lead in the opening quarter, with the Spurs leading by as many as eight points early on. Boston fought back to take a seven-point advantage and ended the period up 31-29.
The Celtics had increased their lead back to seven and still led 51-49 when the game suddenly shifted. Brown was ejected after being called for two consecutive technical fouls for arguing passionately about a no-call when he was pushed out of bounds on the sideline. It was only Brown’s second career ejection.
Wembanyama’s free throws with 3:26 remaining before halftime tied the game at 51. Boston retook the lead, and a pair of free throws by White at the 1:40 mark put the Celtics up 58-54. San Antonio responded with the final four points of the period to tie the game at 58 and head into halftime.
Wembanyama’s 15 points led all scorers in the first half, while Fox added 13 and Castle hit for 10. White led the Celtics with 13 points and Tatum had 10.
