Washington @ San Antonio preview
Frost Bank Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 29, 2024 ) Washington 118, San Antonio 113
The San Antonio Spurs will look to win consecutive games for just the second time this season and get to the .500 mark when they host the struggling Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
The Spurs will play the fourth game of a five-game homestand after a dominant 116-96 win over Sacramento on Monday. Victor Wembanyama led the way with a 34-point, 14-rebound double-double as San Antonio broke open a five-point halftime lead.
Wembanyama's performance allowed him to become one of six players in league history to amass at least at least 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in his first 82 games, which is the equivalent of a full NBA regular season.
Wembanyama went 6 of 12 from beyond the arc on Monday as the Spurs matched a franchise high with 22 3-pointers.
San Antonio has won two of its past three outings.
"I'm just taking better threes," Wembanyama said. "Yeah, of course it's feeling better. I'm 20, I'm hoping for years it's going to keep feeling better and better. There is no reason for it to feel worse."
Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said Wembanyama gets his shots in during practice.
"(He) makes shots every day," Johnson said. "He missed really good shots to start the year, and his recent success is just percentages evening out at this point. He is a very, very good shooter, and we want him to take the appropriate 3-pointers whenever he has the opportunity to."
Wembanyama is averaging 19.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game this season.
Julian Champagnie added 13 points for the Spurs, with Devin Vassell and Chris Paul hitting for 12 each, Keldon Johnson scoring 11 and Harrison Barnes and Stephon Castle tallying 10 apiece. Paul also had 11 assists in the win.
The Wizards head to the Alamo City carrying a five-game losing streak, with their most recent clash a 107-92 defeat in Houston on Monday. Washington has lost each game during its skid by at least 13 points and by an average of nearly 20 points.
The Wizards have not won since beating visiting Atlanta on Oct. 30.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 18 points Monday in his return to the court after missing five games with a groin strain. Corey Kispert added 12 points, Jordan Poole and Bilal Coulibaly had 11 each and Carlton Carrington and Jonas Valanciunas scored 10 apiece for the Wizards, who shot 40.9 percent from the field.
Despite the swoon and the large margin in their losses, Washington coach Brian Keefe said Monday that his team is making its opponents work to get their shots.
"Here's the positive: We're making them miss," Keefe said. "We're making opponents miss. We're doing the first part. But part of defense is you've got to finish the possession. (That's a) part of that system mentality, gang mentality, multiple people hitting bodies that we've got to get better at."
San Antonio has not posted a home win over Washington since the 2021-22 season.
--Field Level Media