Victor Wembanyama made a go-ahead free throw with 2.9 seconds remaining and De’Aaron Fox shined in his Spurs debut as San Antonio escaped with a 126-125 win over the host Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Fox, acquired from the Sacramento Kings on Monday as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Chicago Bulls, poured in 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting and dished out 13 assists. One of his misses led to a Wembanyama putback dunk that put the Spurs up 125-123 with 30.4 seconds left.
Atlanta’s Trae Young sank a floater with 8.5 seconds remaining to tie the game, but Onyeka Okongwu fouled Wembanyama on the next possession.
Wembanyama intentionally missed his second free-throw attempt, and Young followed with a 45-foot heave that was off the mark.
Wembanyama paired 24 points with 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who won despite getting outshot from the field (52.7 percent to 50.5 percent). Devin Vassell added 20 points and Jeremy Sochan supplied 15 off the bench as San Antonio won for just the third time in 10 games.
Young led all scorers with 32 points. He also had 12 assists but committed nine turnovers.
Okongwu (30 points), De’Andre Hunter (22) and Dyson Daniels (19) also scored in double figures as Atlanta lost for the ninth time in its past 10 games. Okongwu pulled down 12 rebounds, Hunter had 10 rebounds, and Daniels added eight boards and seven assists.
The Spurs were up 61-52 after Okongwu split a pair of free throws with 2:08 to go in the second quarter. Fox then connected on three jumpers during an 11-2 run that gave San Antonio a 72-54 cushion at the break.
A Fox layup 22 seconds into the third quarter made it a 20-point game, but the Hawks gradually chipped away at their deficit before using an 11-0 spurt toward the end of the frame to get within 93-90.
Daniels picked Stephon Castle’s pocket and threw home a dunk at the other end of the floor during that run to light a fire under the home crowd.
However, the Spurs never gave up the lead and went into the fourth ahead 103-97.
–Field Level Media
