Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama Duke It Out As Los Angeles Lakers Survive San Antonio Spurs' Late Comeback Bid

Anthony Davis scored the most points he has in a single half all season Wednesday night while Wembanyama recorded his second career 30-point came, but it was ultimately the Los Angeles Lakers who came out on top to hand the San Antonio Spurs their 20th loss.

SAN ANTONIO — One of the most highly anticipated matchups of the NBA season was postponed just half-an-hour prior to its commencement. 

Victor Wembanyama vs. LeBron James — a battle of two generational prospects — had to be put on hold after the Los Angeles Lakers decided to hold him out for the second night of a back-to-back. James was nursing a calf injury, but despite his absence, both teams took the court to face off in the first of two meetings in a row.

Not having to deal with James made things easier for the San Antonio Spurs, but the game still held equal weight. The Spurs needed a win to break a historic losing streak, and the Lakers stood in their way. But after four quarters of action, they came up short. Again. And it started in the paint. 

"The Lakers get a lot of points in the paint," Devin Vassell said prior to the game. "They're going to attack the rim with ... [Davis]. We've got to protect the rim."

Long story short, that didn't happen.

Anthony Davis had his way all night, notching 24 points in the first half alone en route to a season-high 36 and 10 rebounds. He gave Wembanyama trouble all night in the paint, but still, the rookie did his thing, notching a sixth straight double-double with 30 points — his second 30-point game of the season — to go along with 13 rebounds and six more blocks. 

He, Malaki Branham and Keldon Johnson led the scoring for San Antonio, combining for 77 points as a whole, but it wasn't enough as the Lakers secured a 122-119 road victory heading to Friday's game.

Dec 13, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks in front of San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) and forward Keldon Johnson (3) in the first half at the Frost Bank Center / © Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Sochan got the scoring started for San Antonio, as he converted a Wembanyama post pass for an easy dunk to get the crowd riled up early. Anthony Davis went down hard on the Lakers' first possession of the game, forcing Darvin Ham to call a timeout, but once he walked off an ankle sprain, he returned to play and helped put the Lakers out front early. 

D'Angelo Russell, Christian Wood and Austin Reaves all found the bucket throughout the quarter for Los Angeles, while Tre Jones, Zach Collins and Doug McDermott did the same for San Antonio — McDermott and Collins each knocking down 3-pointers to keep the Spurs in striking distance — but behind Davis, the lakers took a slim lead to the second quarter after Reaves hit a turnaround midrange jumpshot with time expiring.

The second quarter saw much of the same — for the Lakers, at least. A pair of 3-pointers by Taurean Prince and Reaves helped Los Angeles mount a 16-point lead within three minutes, and it wasn't until around 8:30 to play that a Spur other than Wembanyama scored. 

By the midway point of the quarter, country singer Parker McCollum had hit more shots on the Frost Bank Center court than the Spurs hit field goals. A charge call that would've sent Sochan to the line only made matters worse as Los Angeles flirted with a 20-point lead throughout the final three minutes. Johnson notched a pair of 3-pointers himself, but the Lakers only responded with makes of their own.

The crowd seemed all-but done with the contest by time halftime loomed, but they were brought back to life by Wembanyama who emphatically slammed a one-handed dunk over Davis before catching a lob and denying the Lakers' big man at the other end with time expiring. Suddenly, the Spurs crowd was into it. 

And it only got more electric in the second half. 

Wembanyama found the bottom of the bucket early in the half to gain some momentum, but a couple of sloppy passes led to points on the other end and allowed the Lakers to maintain a healthy cushion. Davis took a backseat on the scoring in the third quarter, but he didn't need to be scoring for Los Angeles to keep rolling. 

Johnson carried the bulk of the Spurs' scoring heading to the final period, but he couldn't have been a one-man show. None of San Antonio's roster could be. That's why the Spurs headed to the fourth quarter down by nearly 20 points again. 

Though it was almost 21. 

AUSTIN REAVES HITS A FULL-COURT BUZZER BEATER 😱 pic.twitter.com/VwKUnaQ0N5

— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) December 14, 2023

Luckily for San Antonio, Reaves' full-court heave was a split second too late to count, but the deficit was still disheartening. Still, the Spurs tried to rally. A 3-pointer by Cedi Osman following a Wembanyama block did provide some momentum for the young team.

The Spurs' home crowd came alive with around five minutes to play as San Antonio came within eight points of the Lakers and later within four as Wembanyama knocked in a pair of 3s to cut the lead to just two. 

Standing at the free-throw line, Wembanyama had the game in his hands. He had the ability to tie it with two free throws and all eyes in Frost Bank Center were on him. But he missed. He brought Los Angeles' lead down to just one point, but still, it wasn't enough. 

Davis knocked in a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three points, and San Antonio fell just short, losing to the visiting Lakers 122-119 in Game 1 of a two-game series.

With the loss, the San Antonio Spurs extend their franchise-worst losing streak to 18 games, and fall to 3-20 on the season. Still without a win in December, they'll look to try again against the same Lakers squad on the same court. 

Only next time, LeBron James is likely to be on the other end. 

Tipoff from Frost Bank Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST Friday.

LeBron James or Not, Spurs Are Ready to Face Lakers