Champagnie stars as Spurs turn back Nets to capture 11th straight win
At A Glance
- NEW YORK (AP) — Julian Champagnie scored 26 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their 11th straight victory, 126-110, over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night, Feb. 26.
San Antonio Spurs' Julian Champagnie (30) shoots over Brooklyn Nets' Egor Dëmin (8) and Noah Clowney (21) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK (AP) — Julian Champagnie scored 26 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their 11th straight victory, 126-110, over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night, Feb. 26.
Victor Wembanyama had his second straight quiet night offensively, finishing with 12 points, but the surging Spurs had plenty of balance against the lottery-bound Nets. Stephon Castle scored 18 points, De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell had 14 apiece, Keldon Johnson scored 13 and Dylan Harper had 12.
San Antonio (43-16) is on its longest winning streak since it won 13 straight in the 2015-16 season.
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost six straight. Reserve Day’Ron Sharpe had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
It took San Antonio all of 13 seconds to take a lead it would not relinquish. Wembanyama won the opening tip and dropped a pass to a cutting Castle for a spectacular two-handed dunk. By the end of the opening period, Castle had 13 points and the Spurs led 36-22.
San Antonio extended its lead to 48-26, on a 3 by Champagnie 2:20 into the second quarter. The Spurs led 71-56 at halftime.
Brooklyn used a 13-4 spurt in the first 3:26 of the third quarter to cut the deficit to six. But any comeback hopes Brooklyn harbored were dashed by the Spurs, who finished the quarter with a 104-84 lead.
Meanwhile, Royce O'Neale made a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining, Grayson Allen scored 28 points and the short-handed Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-110, after blowing a late 12-point lead.
Allen drove into the lane on the Suns' final possession before finding Collin Gillespie in the corner. Gillespie quickly swung the ball to an open O'Neale.
L.A.'s Austin Reaves missed an open corner 3 at the buzzer. Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Reaves' miss capped a thrilling final few minutes.
The Lakers bounced back from a 12-point deficit with 6:28 left to tie it at 108 on Reaves' 3-pointer with a minute to go. O'Neale responded with a layup after an offensive rebound to take a 110-108, but LeBron James had a tip-in on the ensuing possession to tie it at 110 with 22.7 seconds left.
Phoenix bounced back from a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter to tie it at 80 going into the fourth. Allen scored 16 points in the third, hitting four 3-pointers.
Gillespie made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 21 points. The Suns shot 22 of 50 (44%) from 3-point range.
The Lakers opened the second half on a 11-0 run for a 60-49 advantage, capped by DeAndre Ayton's alley-oop dunk on a nice pass from Doncic.
The Suns improved to 2-3 since the All-Star break. Phoenix was playing without its top two scorers — All-Star guard Devin Booker (hip strain) and forward Dillon Brooks (fractured hand).
The Booker-Brooks duo is averaging roughly 45 points per game and the Suns are struggling to find scoring options without them. It was the first time the team topped 100 points in regulation over the past five games.