Victor Wembanyama’s all-around effort carries Spurs past Pistons
Victor Wembanyama amassed 38 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots as the San Antonio Spurs opened a six-game homestand with a decisive 121-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
The Spurs earned their second straight win and their 13th victory in the past 14 games. Two of those wins were against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons.
San Antonio, which sits second in the Western Conference, set the tone for the game by going up by as many as 19 points in the first half en route to a 71-55 lead at the break. Detroit trimmed its deficit to eight points on a technical free throw by Cade Cunningham at the end of the third quarter.
The Spurs rebuilt the lead to 105-90 on Dylan Harper's dunk with 6:28 left, and the Pistons got no closer that 10 points the rest of the way.
De'Aaron Fox finished with 29 points for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie hit for 16, and Stephen Castle finished with 11 points and 12 assists.
Cunningham had 26 points for Detroit, which dropped its second consecutive outing after an 8-1 stretch.
Isaiah Stewart added 18, Duncan Robinson and Tobias Harris had 11 each and Ronald Holland II and Javonte Green scored 10 points apiece. The Pistons' Ausar Thompson was forced from the game with a sprained right ankle in the first quarter and did not return.
The Spurs were on point from the jump, roaring out to a 10-2 lead after a Fox 3-pointer and eventually stoking the margin to 17 points when Fox canned a 3-pointer with 32.2 seconds to play in the opening period.
Two free throws by Stewart allowed Detroit to trim its deficit to 38-23 after 12 minutes of play. Fox had 16 points in the period and Wembanyama added 12.
The Pistons drew within nine points twice early in the second quarter before San Antonio rebuilt its lead to 17 on Fox's running layup with 8:19 to play until halftime. Two free throws from Wembanyama pushed the advantage to 71-52 with 28.1 seconds left, but Harris' 3-pointer culled the Pistons' deficit to 71-55 entering the break.
Wembanyama led all scorers with 24 points before halftime while Fox added 22 for the Spurs. Stewart paced Detroit with a dozen first-half points, and Cunningham hit for 11.