Spurs can't shoot three-pointers — or lose games

It's tough to win in the NBA if your team doesn't shoot threes. Unless you have Victor Wembanyama, apparently.

The San Antonio Spurs won their sixth straight game after going 10-of-39 (25.6 percent) from three-point range in a 126-113 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Since Jan. 1, the Spurs have been the worst-shooting team in the NBA behind the arc. They're also 14-7.

Spurs are winning without outside shots

It's not that the Spurs avoid the three-point shot. They're in the middle of the pack with 37.9 three-point attempts per game, and 22nd in three-point percentage for the season. Still, they've managed an above-average offense during this win streak, averaging 127.2 points in those wins.

One way they've done that is by avoiding turnovers. In the second half of Wednesday's win, the Spurs only turned the ball over once. That makes their offense more efficient and makes it very difficult for opponents to get fast-break points. If they can't score in transition, the team has to score on Wembanyama in the half-court, where he's blocking 2.7 shots per game.

San Antonio made only three three-pointers, but it made 19 of its 21 two-pointers in the paint — the two mid-range buckets came from De'Aaron Fox. While Wembanyama is shooting a respectable 36.3 percent on three-pointers, he only takes them on 30 percent of his shots. Wemby shoots as often at the rim as he does from the arc, and he makes 77 percent of those close shots. Even Draymond Green couldn't push Wemby away from the basket.