Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. On a Friday night not lacking in any entertainment options, the Spurs provided plenty of their own in a close defeat at to the Lakers. Victor Wembanyama led the team with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Stephon Castle scored 22. Chris Paul continued his stellar play with another double-double of his own by pouring in 11 points and 11 assists. Paul joined the elite 12,000 assist club as he continues to rack up the dimes and mentor these young spurs. The man made a living lobbing alley-oops so it was fitting that number 12k was nothing less than a perfect loft to Wembanyama for the slam. Here’s to 12 thousand more! No. 12,000 pic.twitter.com/E0XuK3ZVRB— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 Beautiful euro-step by Keldon Johnson. Just bellísima. Admirers should write poems and sing songs of KJ deftly navigating around his defender for the drop-in bucket. KJ with the euro pic.twitter.com/gEKxsMf3MW— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 Devin Vassell sold this fake shot attempt so well that his defender opted for the rust-proofing and lifetime warranty for the cup holders. Vassell continues to come off the bench as the Spurs ease him back, but his contributions have been rock solid, averaging 16.3 points and 3.5 assists in just 22 minutes per game. OH MYYYYY pic.twitter.com/JAoOkVrMuS— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 Indeed, Wembanyama is the protector of the paint, defender of down under, preserver of the post, guardian of the goal, bulwark of the basket, paladin of the paint, oh we already said paint. What goes with net? RANGER OF THE RIM! OK I’m done. Protector of the Paint ❌ pic.twitter.com/8wxNw0iz4r— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 Chris Paul can certainly dish it out, but he can also take matters into his own hands. CP3 took this one strong to the basket and leaned into his defender for the and-1. .@CP3 too smooth ‍ pic.twitter.com/fuxTrU0yeY— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 This play hurt my brain more than it should have. First, Wembanyama weaved through heavy traffic away from the basket, then he needled it through several defenders to find Johnson cutting towards the basket in close quarters, and Johnson completes the play by powering through three Lakers for the bucket. The only thing that made more sense than this sequence was a 27-year-old boxing a 58-year-old. TOUGH BUCKET pic.twitter.com/vMLSNnd2cq— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 Stephon Castle showed off some spring as he hopped up high for the easy dunk after Vassell successfully drew a double team to open up his teammate for the open lane. The rookie continues to impress and make his case to stay in the starting lineup, scoring in the double-digits for 5th straight game. THERE GOES THAT MAN pic.twitter.com/2DQUcYxkrr— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 This team is shaping up to be a fun group to watch and follow. You can see the chemistry coalesce as players individually start to grow more comfortable within themselves while carrying that energy to working with each other on the court. Off to a hot start pic.twitter.com/ap5HEIU2Pd— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 16, 2024 If you missed the game because you were too busy calling Netflix support, here are the full-game highlights: Next up, the Spurs have a quick turnaround as they head out to Dallas to take on the Mavericks on Saturday, November 16, 2024.