The San Antonio Spurs are on their longest winning streak since Tim Duncan concluded his storied 19-year career a decade ago.
Until Wednesday, most of the wins were aesthetically pleasing and decided by wide margins.
Coming off a big comeback victory against the Toronto Raptors, the Spurs will attempt to stretch their winning streak to 11 games when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
The Spurs have won 10 games in a row for the first time since a 13-game run from Dec. 26, 2015, to Jan. 22, 2016. San Antonio won the first nine contests by an average of 15.5 points and kept the streak going by rallying for a 110-107 victory in Toronto on Wednesday.
It was the sixth time this season the Spurs overcame a 15-point deficit, and the comeback occurred in a dominant fourth quarter. San Antonio outscored the Raptors 32-17 by shooting 57.9% from the field, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, in the quarter.
Victor Wembanyama had a quiet night of 12 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. He matched his second-fewest points all season and was held under 20 for the third time in this winning streak. He is averaging 24.0 points per game for the season.
De’Aaron Fox scored 20, double the 10 points he tallied on 4-of-17 shooting on Monday in a 114-103 win at Detroit. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 21 points on Wednesday.
“It’s just what this organization is building right now,” Fox said in an on-court interview with Fan Duel Network Southwest. “Obviously, I think we’re ahead of schedule. That’s what everybody else thinks, but with the talent we have in this locker room, we have some guys who also have experience. We’re looking at it as right where we need to be.”
The Spurs earned a 118-107 home win over the Nets on Oct. 26 in the teams’ only meeting this season.
The Nets are on a five-game losing streak since beating the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls Feb. 7-9. Brooklyn is 5-23 in its past 28 games after allowing 76 points in the first half of a 123-114 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
The Nets never trailed by more than 15 after falling behind for good in the first quarter despite allowing a 76-point first half, but they struggled down the stretch after hanging around most of the second half. The Nets shot 7 of 20 from the field and scored 23 points in the fourth after going 6 of 22 in the final quarter against the host Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
“It was all defense. In the first half, you look at those 76 points, and it’s pretty atrocious,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said. “From the ball pressure to everybody behind it, the communication, we were not in place, and our efforts were either too late or too much, never on point.”
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 26 points but was 0-for-4 in the fourth quarter after going 0-for-3 in a scoreless final quarter in the Atlanta game.
Rookie Egor Demin also continued his recent struggles by going 1-for-7 from the floor and scoring just three points. Since recording a career-high 26 points at Orlando on Feb. 5, Demin is 15 of 52 (28.8%) from the floor.
