The San Antonio Spurs will not only get a second chance in three days to earn a victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, they get another opportunity Friday to put an end to their franchise-record losing streak.
The Lakers barely escaped with a 122-119 win over the Spurs on Wednesday, needing to make clutch free throws in the final minute to hold off San Antonio.
The Spurs have dropped 18 straight games, last coming out on top when they defeated the Phoenix Suns 132-121 on the road Nov. 2. The Suns were 3-2 at that point of the season and feeling optimistic about the road ahead, until adversity arrived.
Anthony Davis led Los Angeles to its fifth win in six games Wednesday, counting a victory over the Indiana Pacers in the in-season tournament championship game last Saturday.
Davis scored 37 points with 10 rebounds against the Spurs to help make up for the absence of LeBron James, who missed the game with a left calf contusion. It was just the second missed game this season for James.
Taurean Prince added 17 points for the Lakers, with Austin Reaves scoring 15 off the bench. Rui Hachimura had 13 points and D’Angelo Russell contributed 12 points and 10 assists.
Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 30 points and 13 rebounds and spurred the late comeback, pouring in two 3-pointers and a then a pair of free throws to draw the Spurs to within 117-116 with 21.2 seconds left. It was his second career 30-point game.
Keldon Johnson added a season-high 28 points, Malaki Branham had 19 and Devin Vassell delivered 13.
San Antonio was down by 13 points at the half, by 19 midway through the third quarter and by 20 early in the fourth before its late surge. Davis made a pair of free throws with 17.3 seconds left and an offensive foul by Wembanyama on the Spurs’ ensuing possession decided the game.
