Wembanyama’s 39 helps Spurs survive Edwards’ 55 in San Antonio

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs avoided a acquainted precocious illness connected Saturday, surviving Anthony Edwards’ career-high 55 points successful a 126-123 triumph implicit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Wembanyama led San Antonio with 39 points, and the 2 erstwhile No. 1 picks combined for 94 — the astir by opposing apical selections successful the modern draught epoch (1966), according to ESPN Research.

"It was fun," Wembanyama said. "Not the astir fun, but it was a amusive crippled for sure. And this 1 is worthy a batch due to the fact that of the mode the West looks close now."

A rematch flips precocious again

Six days earlier successful Minneapolis, the Spurs raced to a 16-0 commencement and went up 19 earlier Edwards finished them disconnected with a go-ahead runner with 16.8 seconds left. This time, astatine Frost Bank Center, Edwards astir played spoiler again, scoring 26 points successful the 4th fourth — the second-most successful immoderate 4th by a Timberwolves subordinate successful the play-by-play epoch (1997-98), per ESPN Research.

"They've got Wemby," Edwards said. "He's expected to beryllium the look of the league. So, I've ever got to get up for that one. I loved it. I privation we could person conscionable moved everybody retired the mode and conscionable checked up -- maine versus him."

Minnesota erased a 25-point shortage and took its archetypal pb of the 2nd fractional with 3:28 near connected an Edwards fadeaway. Wembanyama answered with an 18-footer connected the adjacent travel to necktie it astatine 110.

Spurs’ second-quarter surge holds up

San Antonio’s cushion came from a monolithic 2nd quarter: Wembanyama scored 20 successful the frame, including 11 consecutive successful conscionable implicit 2 minutes, arsenic the Spurs won the 4th 48-22. It was the team’s highest-scoring 4th since Nov. 20, 1987, and tied for the fourth-most successful franchise past since joining the NBA (1976-77), according to ESPN Research.

"This squad has done this to [us] capable times that everyone remembers and tin expect the accommodation oregon the uptick successful what we are astir to see, and that's what happened," Spurs manager Mitch Johnson said.

Keldon Johnson added 20 points and deed a precocious 3-pointer to assistance seal it: "Vic deed immoderate big-time shots, and that's what it comes down to," helium said.

Wembanyama aboriginal pointed to the blown pb arsenic the existent lesson: "The full communicative of the crippled is we fto the pb get away," helium said.