Victor Wembanyama pours 40 points in 26 minutes as Spurs dominated star-less Lakers.
Los Angeles, Calif. — A night without their stars ended in flat-out embarrassment on their home court on the second night of a back-to-back.
The firepower of the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama was too much for the Lakers, losing to San Antonio 136-108 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers were without four of their five starters, which included a bulk of their offense and star power in Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. And the Spurs completely took advantage with an explosive start to the game.
Wembanyama connected on his first five shots, outscoring the Lakers multiple times in the first quarter. The Spurs jumped out to a 47-30 lead at the end of the first quarter, the most points in a quarter L.A. has given up this season, as Wembanyama scored 25 points in the quarter.
It was the most points in a quarter by a player in franchise history in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98), according to ESPN Insights.
The Spurs continued to have their way in the Lakers' paint and inside the perimeter, hitting 22 of their 30 2-pointers in the first half. Their efficiency led to San Antonio scoring 84 points at halftime—another season high allowed in a half—which was led by Wembanyama, who scored 37 points at halftime.
The French superstar finished with 40 points (12 rebounds) on 13 of 20 shooting in 26 minutes. His night was finished in the third quarter as the Spurs continued to extend their lead, reaching their highest of the game in the quarter at 41.
"He's one of the five best players in the world. He's put that stamp on himself. To me, it's more than the counting stats because there's such an avoidance of him defensively and an awareness you have to have with him defensively," coach JJ Redick said. "On top of that, he's one of one as a human."
It was the second time this season Wembanyama notched 40 points, the first one being on opening night against the Mavericks.
Redick explained how the Lakers struggled to create buckets at the rim because of how elite San Antonio is at defending the rim. The Spurs had 72 points while holding the Lakers to 50 points.
Jake LaRavia took on the Wemby assignment for most of the first half, which put him in foul trouble going into halftime and fouling out early in the third quarter, finishing with 10 points in 18 minutes.
New addition Kobe Bufkin got his first start of his career but struggled to find his shot with seven points on two for 10 shooting.
"Could have been a lot better," Bufkin said on his first start. "I think defensively I was really solid, but offensively I could have been better."
With the score out of reach, the Lakers' reserves had their chances to shine. Bronny James had a couple of nice plays, including a nice block on Kelly Olynyk and a 3 on the other end on the break.
Drew Timme and Luke Kennard led the team in scoring with 14 points each.
The Lakers' second straight loss dropped them to 32-21 in their 10th loss this season at home. They continue their final home game on Thursday against the Mavericks before the All-Star break.
Category: General Sports
