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Victor Wembanyama dropped a career-high 50 points as he led the Spurs to a win over the Wizards (Video)
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Victor Wembanyama dropped a career-high 50 points as he led the Spurs to a win over the Wizards (Video)

The Washington Wizards didn’t have an answer for Victor Wembanyama on Wednesday night.

The San Antonio Spurs star reached 50 points, the highest score of his career. They beat Wizards 139-130 at the Frost Bank Center. This was by far Wembanyama’s best outing of his young career, shattering his previous career high of 40. He made eight three-pointers and shot 18-of-29 from the field in the win. He also became the first player in Spurs history to make at least six three-pointers in three consecutive games.

This outing follows a 34-point performance against the Sacramento Kings on Monday. The former No. 1 overall pick became the first Spurs player to have a 50-point game since LaMarcus Aldridge in 2019. He also became the fourth youngest player in league history to score 50 points, behind Devin Booker. LeBron James and Brandon Jennings.

The two teams were tied in the first half and went to the locker room tied with 67 points. However, Wembanyama and Spurs completely broke the game in the third quarter. They nearly doubled the Wizards’ points and closed the period with a 23-7 blowout loss. Washington scored just two goals in the last six minutes of the quarter. Wembanyama scored 17 points in this period, including three three-pointers.

Wembanyama wasted no time in reaching 50 points in the fourth quarter. After a layup and three quick free throws, Wembanyama made an easy 50-foot shot from the wing over Corey Kispert to officially reach 50 points for the first time in his career. This put Spurs 17 points ahead at the time.

He left the game a short time later when he saw that Spurs were heading for victory. But after the Wizards cut the lead to 10 points with less than five minutes left in the game, Wembanyama re-entered the game to close out the nine-point lead.

Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 42 points. He shot 6/9 from beyond the arc. Kispert scored 19 points off the bench, and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Wizards, who have lost six in a row, are currently 2-8 on the season.

Devin Vassell added 17 points off the bench in Wembanyama’s 50-point performance for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie scored 12 points and Harrison Barnes had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Spurs still without head coach Gregg Popovichand are led by interim coach Mitch Johnson. The team announced Wednesday that Popovich suffered a mild stroke earlier this month and is “expected to make a full recovery.” There is no timeline yet for his return.

San Antonio will next take action on Friday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Cup.