An historic triple-double courtesy of Rookie of the Year frontrunner Victor Wembanyama propelled the San Antonio Spurs to a 122-99 win over the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
Wembanyama put up a 27-point, 14-rebound, 10-block triple-double on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with five assists and a pair of steals.
The 20-year-old becomes just the seventh player in league history with 25+ points, 14+ rebounds, and 10+ blocks in a single game joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Dwight Howard, Artis Gilmore and Ralph Sampson.
He also overtakes Shaquille O’Neal as the youngest player in NBA history to record a points-rebounds-blocks triple-double.
On the year, Wembanyama is now putting up averages of 20.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg, and a league-leading 3.2 bpg in just 28.4 minutes per night – only Hall of Famers O’Neal, Robinson, and Alonzo Mourning have hit those marks across their rookie campaigns and none in as few average minutes.
Wembanyama was flanked by teammates Devin Vassell (25 pts, 5/7 3PM), Jeremy Sochan (16 pts, 6 reb), and Tre Jones (7 pts, 7 reb, 10 ast) in the win over Toronto.
It proved a wire-to-wire victory for the Spurs who leapt out to an early lead thanks to a quick opening before outscoring the Raptors by double-digits in both the second and third quarters en route to a lead that grew as high as 31.
They held the Raptors to under 40 per cent from the field and under 26 per cent from three whilst scoring 32 points off 19 forced turnovers.
Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley – Toronto’s two leading shot-takers – shot a combined 5-of-27 from the field and 2-of-12 from deep.
The Raptors will host the Pacers on Thursday whilst the Spurs are back in action against the Mavericks in the fifth game of their nine-game road stand the same day.
