Spurs Vs Nets: San Antonio 126-110, 11th straight and an undefeated February
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-110 in New York, a result that pushed San Antonio’s winning streak to 11 and capped an undefeated February. The spurs vs nets game underscored San Antonio’s depth, a late-month surge that leaves the Spurs closing in on the Western Conference’s top seed.
Champagnie, Castle and Wembanyama headlined the box score
Julian Champagnie led San Antonio with 26 points while Stephon Castle added 18. Victor Wembanyama had a quieter night offensively with 12 points but contributed other counting stats. The game sheet credited Champagnie with 3 steals and 2 blocks and noted he shot 6-of-9 on 3-pointers. Castle went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line and had 13 first-quarter points. Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Spurs Vs Nets — the sequence that decided the game
San Antonio seized control almost immediately: it took just 13 seconds for the Spurs to take a lead they would not relinquish when Wembanyama won the opening tip and dropped a pass to a cutting Castle for a two-handed dunk. By the end of the first quarter the Spurs led 36-22, and Castle had 13 points.
San Antonio extended the margin to 48-26 on a 3 by Champagnie 2: 20 into the second quarter and led 71-56 at halftime. Brooklyn opened the third quarter with a 13-4 spurt in the first 3: 26 that trimmed the lead; later in the quarter the Nets cut the deficit to 75-69 with 8: 34 remaining. The Spurs closed the period by outscoring Brooklyn 29-15 and entered the fourth up 104-84.
Nets’ bench scoring and ongoing skid
Brooklyn received scoring from Michael Porter Jr. and its reserves but could not stop San Antonio’s balanced attack. Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Day'Ron Sharpe provided a bench boost with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Danny Wolf also contributed 14 points off the bench. The loss extended Brooklyn’s skid to six straight and dropped the Nets to 15-43, the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and the third-worst in the league.
Streaks, standings and the Spurs’ unfinished business
The victory was San Antonio’s 11th straight and their longest winning streak since a 13-game run in the 2015-16 season. The Spurs improved to 43-16 and finished February undefeated; that 11-0 month is the third undefeated month in team history and the first since a 16-0 March in the 2013-14 season. San Antonio’s last loss before this run came on Jan. 31, a 111-106 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets.
Coupled with Oklahoma City’s loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the Spurs sit 1. 5 games back of the Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The two teams do not meet again this regular season; San Antonio has 23 games remaining while Oklahoma City has 22.
Local context and comments from the postgame
Champagnie, who played college basketball at St. John's and grew up on Staten Island, said it "means everything" to return to New York and have a strong night in front of hometown fans; he told the Spurs' broadcast team he had to buy 17 tickets for family and friends. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game, "It feels like the players are finding different ways to win. "
Scheduling notes and a separate betting preview for Lakers–Suns
The Spurs cross the East River next for a nationally televised matchup against the New York Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, a matinee scheduled for 1 p. m. ET. By that game the Spurs could be within a single game of Oklahoma City, which hosts the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Separately, an odds and betting preview covering the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns listed timing for that matchup as Friday 02/27 02: 00 AM and earlier was shown with Thursday 02/26 18: 00 PM in a headline. The preview noted that the Lakers struggle against good teams but perform well against weaker opponents; it characterized the Suns as having a winning record yet being "bad" in their current state, and said the Suns have lost six of their last eight. The piece added that the Suns failed to cover the spread seven times in their last eight games, and that the Lakers had lost four of their last six games, with those losses coming to good teams on a home stand. It referenced a December 23 loss — a 132-108 defeat — suffered without Luke Doncic, suggested uncertainty about who might play for the Suns on a given night and stated it was a good bet Devin Booker would not play, concluding with a note that the Lakers should cover in that matchup.
