Spurs erase late 12-point deficit to top Wizards

Jeremy Sochan scored five of his 23 points in the final minute to help the San Antonio Spurs rally from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit en route to a 131-127 victory over the host Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

A back-and-forth contest throughout, neither team led by more than eight points through the first three quarters. Washington went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth, however, and later found itself up 121-109 with five minutes to play.

San Antonio made a charge, though, with Victor Wembanyama scoring seven of his game-high 24 points as part of a 12-0 run that pulled the Spurs even at 121.

Wembanyama later freed up Sochan for a 3-pointer that gave San Antonio a 126-125 edge with 53.1 seconds remaining.

Marvin Bagley III made a pair of free throws to push Washington back ahead. He finished with a team-high 21 points.

Bagley also grabbed 12 rebounds, matching teammate Kyle Kuzma for the game high.

The contest featured 15 lead changes, with the last of those coming on a pair of Sochan free throws with 28.6 seconds remaining. San Antonio put the game away when Tre Jones sank a pair of free throws with 20.3 seconds to go after Kuzma, who finished with 11 points, missed a contested floater. Bagley got the rebound, but he then missed a follow-up.

Wembanyama finished with eight rebounds and four assists to go with his game-high point total. Devin Vassell scored 21 points, and Jones posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 assists.

Keldon Johnson came off the bench to score 19 points and grab a team-high nine rebounds.

Seven Wizards scored in double figures, with Deni Avdija, Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert each posting 16 points. Bilal Coulibaly went 6-for-9 from the floor and finished with 14 points off the bench, and Tyus Jones had 13 points and six assists.

The Spurs took a 72-66 lead into the break after scoring nine of the final 14 points of the first half. Vassell paced all scorers with 15 points before intermission.