The San Antonio Spurs got their first win of the season in an overtime thriller, winning 126-122 over the Houston Rockets on Friday night at the Frost Bank Center.
The Spurs (1-1) were led by guard Devin Vassell, who finished with a team-high 25 points, shooting 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. Victor Wembanyama was the team’s second-leading scorer, finishing with 21 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Rockets (0-2) were leading 109-106 with 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter when Wembanyama was sent to the free throw line. The 7-foot-3 forward knocked down both shots, shortening the deficit to one point.
Trailing again by three, Spurs forward Zach Collins was sent to the line with 35 seconds left. After making the first, Collins missed his second shot and was rebounded by Rockets Jabari Smith Jr., who was sent to the free throw line on a loose ball foul from Keldon Johnson.
Smith Jr. missed both free throws, and Wembanyama came down with the defensive rebound. Johnson found the rookie cutting to the basket where Wembanyama made the game-tying layup.
The Spurs outscored the Rockets 15-11 in overtime to win their first game of the season.
Wembanyama scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and extra frame en route to his first career victory.
“I’m proud of what we did tonight, but now we can really see where we can get better,” Wembanyama said. “We hadn’t been really pretty for three quarters. A win is a win, but it shows that we got a lot of room to grow as a team.”
The Frenchman has been quick to adjust to the NBA. In the season opener against the Mavericks, Wembanyama had 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting in the 126-119 loss.
“We can all see it. How he’s settling in,” Spurs guard Tre Jones said of Wembanyama. “Just as the game went on it seemed like it got easier for him.”
The Spurs will have their first road trip of the season this weekend, traveling to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Sunday before playing back-to-back games in Phoenix.
San Antonio will return home to face the Toronto Raptors at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Frost Bank Center.
