SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored 24 points, Julian Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama added 22 points apiece and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 121-110 on Friday night in the NBA Cup opener for both teams.
Kevin Durant scored 24 points and Alperen Sengun added 22 for Houston, which had its five-game winning streak halted.
Barnes scored the game’s final four points on a pair of free throws and a breakaway dunk after a steal at midcourt with 12 seconds remaining.
Champagnie had nine points in the final quarter and finished 6 for 13 on 3-pointers. Champagnie also collected and saved a contested offensive rebound and scooped a loose ball on the defensive end with the Spurs up 115-108.
The Rockets were aggressive defensively against Wembanyama. Houston guards Josh Okogie and Reed Sheppard got under Wembanyama and pushed him repeatedly in the chest and out of position offensively in the first half.
Wembanyama had four points on 2-for-6 shooting in the opening quarters.
San Antonio closed the first half on a 12-0 run, fueled by five turnovers in the final two minutes. Devin Vassell had a 3-pointer and Stephon Castle completed a three-point play during the run. Durant was called for his third personal foul at the start of the run after shoving Barnes to the court.
San Antonio and Houston are in West Group C of the NBA Cup, along with Portland, Denver and Golden State.
Both teams entered the game with a 5-2 record, but reached that mark differently. The Spurs won their first five games, while the Rockets lost their first two before winning five straight.
Rockets: At Milwaukee on Sunday.
Spurs: Host New Orleans on Saturday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join us to meet Simi Monheit, the author of The Goldie Standard, and the 2024 Winner of the … Read moreMeet the Award-Winning Author of The Goldie Standard
All SMUHSD, staff, parents, and community members are invited to a panel discussion on dam r… Read moreWater is Life: Victories and Challenges in Water Equity in an Age of Climate Change
Mike Caggiano said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.