Luka Doncic amassed 35 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to five games with a 118-116 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Deandre Ayton contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Smart added 17 points as the Lakers rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit. Los Angeles won without Austin Reaves (groin) for the second consecutive game, while LeBron James (sciatica) has yet to play this season.
Doncic, who also tied a career high with five steals, hit a 3-pointer with 2:31 remaining to give the Lakers the lead for good at 113-112. Los Angeles made 5 of 6 free throws over the final 1:27.
The Spurs had a chance to tie the game inside the final second when Julian Champagnie was fouled by Jake LaRavia, but Champagnie missed the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second. San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson had a tip-in attempt off the miss, but it was unsuccessful.
Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 19 points and eight rebounds but fouled out with 1:40 remaining. Stephon Castle produced 16 points and eight assists, while Jeremy Sochan also had 16 points and Devin Vassell added 15. Sochan and Harrison Barnes (14 points) also fouled out.
Wembanyama went 5 of 14 from the floor with five turnovers during a second consecutive game when he played below expectations. San Antonio fell at Phoenix on Sunday after opening the season on a five-game winning streak.
The Lakers led 74-72 just before the midway point of the third quarter when the Spurs went on an 18-6 run to take a 10-point lead. Castle scored the last six points in the burst and capped it with a three-point play.
San Antonio led 96-88 at the end of three quarters before Wembanyama committed his fifth foul with 10:31 remaining. He returned with 6:38 left as the Spurs held a 106-100 lead.
The Spurs led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter before the Lakers rallied to take a 60-59 lead into halftime. Vassell scored 11 points in the first half for San Antonio, while Doncic had 22 points for the Lakers.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (hamstring) remained out while rookie guard Dylan Harper (calf) missed a game for the first time this season.
