By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Finally, the losing curse has been ended.
Entering their NBA regular season game against the Los Angeles Lakers with an 18-match losing streak, the San Antonio Spurs finally broke out of their slump and halted their dry spell, 129-115, last December 16, 2023.
The much-needed victory helped the Spurs return to the NBA winning column while also clinching its first win since outdueling the Phoenix Suns last November 3, 2023.
Their win against the Suns became their last victory for the whole month of November and the first half of December.
San Antonio stepped onto the hardwood with the main goal of completing its revenge tour on the Lakers who earlier defeated them last December 14 in a tightly-contested game, 122-119.
It was a different scenario during their rematch as San Antonio immediately took control of the game and built a double-digit lead heading into the second quarter.
Devin Vassell finally picked up his shooting rhythm and made up for his poor shooting during their last game and erupted for 36 big points.
The young shooting guard was unstoppable and was efficient with his three-point shooting all game long.
Vassell ended up with an impressive 12/19 shooting from the field including 5/10 from the rainbow country and 7/7 from the charity stripe.
Rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama also sustained his consistent performance and logged in another double-double of 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
The Lakers fought without Anthony Davis who is nursing a hip spasm injury but they managed to keep the game interesting when they owned the second quarter, 40-27.
However, the Spurs bounced back in the second half and didn’t allow the Lakers to capitalize on their strengths at the perimeter with the presence of LeBron James.
James led the charge for Los Angeles in the losing effort, dropping 23 points, 14 assists, seven rebounds, and two interceptions while Austin Reaves chipped in 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
