Spurs Stun Warriors, Erase 17-Point Deficit to Notch 3rd Straight Win

The San Antonio Spurs came back from down 17 points at home to hand the Golden State Warriors their fourth loss of the season in Victor Wembanyama's return from injury.

Nov 23, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles against Golden State Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (32) in the first half at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO — The two loudest reactions at Frost Bank Center prior to tipoff were welcoming Stephen Curry to San Antonio, and welcoming back Victor Wembanyama to the lineup.

The San Antonio Spurs were set to play host to the red-hot Golden State Warriors fresh off a two-game win streak. Their visitors, however, had found a much higher margin of success through the first fifth of the season even without Klay Thompson and veteran point guard Chris Paul.

That was something not even Mitch Johnson had much of an explanation for.

"They've been doing this for a decade," the Spurs' interim coach said. "They have a clear identity. They have a foundation that they've built a long time ago, and they stay true to themselves."

Golden State owned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference entering the night and looked every bit as dominant through the first three quarters, But San Antonio gave it a run for its money.

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Victor Wembanyama, making his return after missing three games with a right knee contusion, finishing with 25 points and a near triple-double with nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Warriors had five players finish in double figures — Andrew Wiggins led the way with 20 points — and dominated scoring in the paint, but ultimately gave up their lead and fell short, 104-94 on the road.

Pair that with poor first-half shooting from the Spurs, and all signs pointed to a blowout. Then, the loudest reactions of the game came into play.

Sandro Mamukelashvili's first 3-pointer of the night came a few minutes into the fourth quarter, which brought the Warriors' lead down to within single digits for the first time since they blew the game open in the second quarter.

Julian Champagnie followed that with a caught lob from Wembanyama to pile on the energy, and by time the 20-year-old power forward notched second and third blocks on the night — on the same possession — Frost Bank Center was alive and well.

nope and NOPE ❌ pic.twitter.com/ofRWihoB1p

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 24, 2024

Curry, who finished with 14 points on the evening, kept Golden State out front entering the back half of the fourth quarter, and from there, San Antonio took its first lead of the contest behind a deep 3-point shot from rookie Stephon Castle.

And for once, it was the team that never trailed the rest of the way.

Wembanyama hit a 3-pointer of his own to ice the game to officially erase the 17-point deficit that Golden State amassed late in the third quarter as the Spurs secured a 104-94 home victory.

With the win, the Spurs improve to 9-8 on the season — their first time above .500 all year — and advance their win streak to three games. Johnson improves to 7-4 as interim coach, meanwhile Steve Kerr and the Warriors fall to 12-4 on the season and enter a tie for No. 1 in the west with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Next up for San Antonio is a single game road trip to Salt Lake City, where it'll face the struggling Utah Jazz. Tipoff from Delta Center is set for 8 p.m. Central.

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