Victor Wembanyama hit the game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds left, capping a 34-point, 12-rebound outing as the host San Antonio Spurs earned a 101-100 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
The Suns led by seven points at halftime, by six heading into the final period and by 10 when Khaman Maluach threw down a thunderous dunk off a Devin Booker assist with 4:50 to play. That seemed to wake up San Antonio (52-18), which responded with an 8-0 run capped by a jumper by De’Aaron Fox with 2:45 remaining.
Phoenix’s Oso Ighodaro hit a jumper that was countered by a pair of free throws by Fox before the Suns’ Jordan Goodwin poured in a 3-pointer to put the visitors up 100-95 with 1:13 to play.
Wembanyama then canned a pair of free throws with 59 seconds remaining, and Fox drove the lane for a layup with 26.6 seconds left to trim the Spurs’ deficit to a point.
Phoenix’s Rasheer Fleming missed two free throws 11.1 seconds to play, leaving open the door for San Antonio, and Wembanyama walked in. After a timeout, he took the inbounds pass and held the ball before moving to his right and hitting a contested 17-foot jumper over Ighodaro for the victory.
Fox finished with 23 points while Julian Champagnie scored 14 and Devin Vassell added 12 for the Spurs, who won their third straight game and their 20th in the past 22 contests.
Collin Gillespie led Phoenix (39-31) with 24 points. Booker added 22 (16 of them in the second half), with Jalen Green hitting for 17 and Ighodaro tallying 15 for the Suns in their fourth straight loss.
Phoenix took a 24-21 advantage when Gillespie canned a 3-pointer with 1:05 to play in the first period, and the Suns enjoyed a 26-24 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
The Suns produced a 13-4 run capped by a 3-pointer by Gillespie at the 9:15 mark of the second quarter to push their lead to 11 points. The Spurs trimmed the margin to 47-45 on Wembanyama’s three-point play and then to 55-52 when Champagnie poured in a 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining. The Suns carried a 59-52 lead to the break.
Gillespie led all scorers with 17 points before halftime while Green added 13 for Phoenix. Wembanyama’s 16 points paced the Spurs over the first two quarters.
