Victor Wembanyama earned a chorus of MVP chants at Frost Bank Center by packing a full night’s work into his first 17 minutes, then finished with career highs in points (52) and rebounds (24) as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 on Wednesday.
“It’s just figuring things out,” Wembanyama said. “Sometimes, you’re one step ahead. Also, I haven’t been feeling great lately. I’m sick. I felt like I got my legs back. So, it should be more like this more often.”
Wembanyama started red-hot, scoring 10 of San Antonio’s first 12 points and pouring in 29 points in the first half. That outburst was the second-highest scoring output of any half in his career, eclipsed only by his 37-point first half in February against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Perfect from the line
More than half of his points, 15, came at the foul line. Wembanyama made all 15 of his free throws, tying James Harden’s 2019 mark for the most without a miss in a first half during the play-by-play era, which dates to 1997-98.
He also recorded 15 rebounds and five blocks in a first half that the Spurs led 68-51. The 22-year-old became the first player to post at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half.
Historic night
Wembanyama finished with eight blocks, the most in a 50-plus-point performance since blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson summed up the performance.
“Twenty-[four] rebounds, nine offensive rebounds,” Johnson said. “Excluding the 3s, he was 15-for-20 from the field, which means he was all over the basket area and around the paint. He was a man tonight, and his teammates rewarded him quite a bit. He got rewarded in a variety of ways by just dominating both ends.”
Wembanyama became the first player with at least 50 points and 20 rebounds in a one-point win since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964. He is only the third player in NBA history with such a line, joining Elgin Baylor. He is also the fifth player in league history with multiple 50-point games at age 22 or younger, having scored 50 in a win over the Washington Wizards in November 2024.
Told that his stat line compared with Chamberlain’s past performances, Spurs guard Dylan Harper did not hold back.
“He’s basically Wilt,” Harper said. “The other team tries to do everything [to stop Wembanyama]. They throw out any adjustment, every adjustment. It’s hard to keep big fella out of the paint. He’s so dominant when he screens and rolls. He knows how to get to his spots. He’s great at the free throw line. So, for us, it’s just how do we get him the ball and how do we get the low man away from him?”
Wembanyama also drew comparisons with another Hall of Famer. He became the second player since blocks were made official to record at least 50 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks in a game, joining Bob McAdoo in 1974.
Defensive display
Perhaps the most eye-catching part of the performance came on the defensive end. Over 13 seconds in the second quarter, Wembanyama swatted away three consecutive shots from Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in the same possession.
Flagg tried Wembanyama first with an eight-foot floater, which the Frenchman smacked into the crowd opposite the Dallas bench. Wembanyama then blocked Washington’s pull-up attempt into a group of fans behind the Mavericks’ basket. Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox collected the third block of the sequence.
“If I got blocked three times in a row, I feel like I’d be pretty upset,” Harper said. “But that’s Vic. He takes pride on the defensive side and things like that are just natural to him.”
Dallas shot a combined 2-of-13 in the first half when contested by Wembanyama, with the average field goal coming from 5.5 feet.
Ankle scare
With 9:11 left to play, Wembanyama rolled his right ankle, a worrying moment for the Spurs. He subbed out with San Antonio leading 94-87. When the Mavericks cut the deficit to one point (100-99) with 6:05 left on a Flagg alley-oop dunk, Wembanyama returned to close out the game, scoring 10 points down the stretch.
“He’s Superman,” Harper said. “He rolls his ankle and pops right up and acts like nothing happened. I’ve never seen [something] like that, but that’s a testament to how he takes care of his body.”
Wembanyama said he was “feeling fine” when asked about the ankle. He called the play “the moment that stands out” because “both teams were really fighting at this moment, and they stepped up their physicality and forced us to step up ours.”
Season standard
No player has produced more points, rebounds or blocks in a game this season than Wembanyama, who tied or set NBA highs in all three categories against the Mavericks. San Antonio outscored Dallas 87-64 while he was on the floor but managed only a minus-22 when he sat.
“I think he’s settled into the season like we all have,” Johnson said of Wembanyama. “We just had to make sure we got to a good spot in terms of this team needed to get to where our feet were. There’s a lot with this team that has potential and there’s a lot this team had to get to the starting blocks for the season. We’re starting to finally play the brand of basketball that we know how and how we should play.”