Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Fifth night and win of the season holding a rival under 100 points The Spurs’ Eastern road trip continued in Brooklyn with a victorious effort against the Nets powered mainly by the defense. Victor Wembanyama led the way, blocking six shots, and three other teammates had at least two steals each. They improved to 5-8 on the road and are back over .500 again at 16-15. True to form, the Spurs’ attack struggled in the opening quarter because the Nets’ defense sent a message: holding them to their lowest-scoring first quarter of the year, 22-11. After the game, coach Mitch Johnson said, “We did not have the proper approach, energy, discipline…” regarding the slow start. Wembanyama was off target, Devin Vassell’s jumper was broken and Stephon Castle couldn’t score in the lane. But their salvation was that they were almost as ravenous, holding the Nets to 42 percent shooting. Wembanyama had two blocks in the period. On top of that, Nic Claxton didn’t start getting loose until Wemby sat. The intensity carried over into the second frame, starting with them capitalizing on a pick-6 and, within three-and-a-half minutes, had gone on a 16-2 run. Julian Champagnie had three treys in that span, and Wemby threw a lob to Harrison Barnes. But Brooklyn’s timeout zapped the energy, and they countered with a full-court press, poking balls loose and promptly bothering shots. Still, the Spurs generated makeable opportunities that went nowhere from Vassell. In spite of the offense being in a rut, it wasn’t a total loss because they were consistently getting to the line, making the game uglier by crippling the flow for the other team. After trading cold streaks, the game was tied at 41 at halftime. The Spurs’ half-court offense was held to 62.2 points per 100 plays, good enough for the comically bad 1st percentile of all games played this season, per Cleaning the Glass. Additionally, the team had only 10 paint points, nine on the break, two via second chances and 22 from the bench. Then Noah Clowney and Shake Milton responded with 3-pointers, and Jalen Wilson had a 3-point play, but the Spurs over-matched them. The defense contained the Nets to 38 percent shooting to take a 12-point lead heading into the fourth. Webmanyama found his rhythm, making three triples and dunked, yet, with five minutes left in the period, he went for the locker room after getting headbutted by Wilson. The team scored 12 points by Keldon Johnson, Champagnie, Vassell and Castle to close the quarter without him. Subsequently, Wembanyama recovered from his daze to start the fourth and got three extra blocks. Jeremy Sochan, Chris Paul and Champagnie raised the lead to 17, forcing a Brooklyn stoppage with seven minutes left. When play resumed, the team was outscored 17-9, but they held on to win, 96-87. They had 36 paint points, 19 on the break, nine via second chances and 41 from the bench. At the postgame press conference, Nets coach Jordi Fernandez was asked what changed the game. He cited the third quarter, saying, “Those three threes that Wemby made right there shifted the game a little bit.” Play of the game Keldon Johnson’s near half-court shot to end the first quarter saved the Spurs from a single-digit scoring period and gave them a spark. KJ at the buzzer END 1 | SAS 11, BRK 22 pic.twitter.com/X4gT76WSes— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 28, 2024 Game Notes This was another good performance from Sochan. He played at center when Wemby sat. In those situations, the team struggled to score without Wemby, but the defense held up because Sochan was impactful in the backline. He was also good at full-court press and was the game’s leading rebounder with 14. The Nets’ record is not good (12-19), but they are well-coached and are a tough team to put away. Before this game, they had six losses decided by five points or fewer. Vassell’s jumper was useless in the first half, and he shot one of nine in that span. He was better in the second half, making three or seven shots, but overall, it was the second-worst shooting night he’s had this season. The Spurs’ offense scored 100 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 14th percentile of all games played this season, per cleaning the Glass. Furthermore, they were held to 15 of 32 shots in the restricted area, which is 18.8 percentage points below league average. Even with those poor marks, it’s a good sign that the Spurs can come away with a win when a game gets in the mud. Champagnie was the top 3-point shooter of the night, making five of seven. It was his fifth night of the season making at least five triples. Johnson was the other high-level contributor off the bench with 15 points on five of 11 shots. The defense was sharp, doing its job without fouling, allowing just eight free-throw attempts. On top of that, Wemby’s blocks made the Nets more tentative to attack the interior.