Spurs Beat Mavericks 139-120 Behind Wembanyama's 40

SAN ANTONIO - Victor Wembanyama dropped 40 points in 26 minutes, securing his awards eligibility and pushing the Spurs to win number 62 of the season over the depleted Dallas Mavericks.

Rookie Cooper Flagg played an exceptional game with 33 points to keep Dallas competitive for much of the contest, but the Mavericks had too much talent sitting and let go of the rope in the second half. De'Aaron Fox, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes and Carter Bryant all joined Wemby in double-figure scoring.

The Spurs were already guaranteed to be the second overall seed when the playoffs begin, but the big question coming into the night was whether or not Wembanyama would play the 20 minutes required to meet the 65-game minimum. He did that and much more, finishing with 40 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 2 blocks.

"Individual awards, accolades, recognition, acknowledgement is important, and I think when you have a team that understands that the greater good for the team and the group is the most important thing, allows people to feel good about not only acknowledging others, but also being acknowledged in the moment," Mitch Johnson said. "Sometimes that can feel awkward for people in a group setting or a team setting, and I think we've got a very good balance of not avoiding individual recognition, acknowledgement and aspirations, and also understanding there is not one thing that's more important than the team goal."

Wembanyama said after the game that there were only a few plays and specific movements where he felt discomfort in that left rib area. He didn't rule out playing in Sunday's finale against the Nuggets, but also said it wouldn't be surprising if he sat out.

San Antonio lost 60 games when Wembanyama was a rookie, and in his third year the Spurs have a chance at 63 wins. According to the team, it's just the third time in NBA history a team has increased their win total by 40 or more in a two-year span.

"I love that fact," Wembanyama said with a smile. "I'm still not .500 in my career, but we'll have time to make that happen, I'm sure."

De'Aaron Fox's 18 points and 10 assists will go under the radar, but it's another example of him knowing exactly what version of himself the Spurs needed in this particular contest.

"He's by far the most capable on our team of understanding the pulse of the game and knowing exactly what to do at that time," Johnson said. "He creates space, I mean space figuratively and literally, for Victor and Dylan and Steph... and he also knows when he needs to insert himself at the forefront of the game, in whatever capacity that may be. And I think we've seen that lately, and I think we'll continue to see that, and that's what we'll definitely need in the playoffs."

San Antonio shot 41% from 3-point range as a team, and rookie Carter Bryant followed up his 5-6 shooting in the previous contest with a perfect 3-3 night. He did a decent job defending Flagg when he was asked to as well.

"I like when Carter plays aggressive," Johnson said after the game. "I like when he plays physical. I like when he plays on the front foot, leaning forward. And I don't expect a player at his age and his experience or lack thereof to not make mistakes. So every mistake he makes that is in the mold or makeup of what I just described, I'm okay with that's why we're called coaches, because we have to coach in those moments."

In the final game of the regular season on Sunday, the Spurs could potentially decide the fate of the Nuggets. Denver rested their guys on Friday and beat the Thunder who did the same. If the Lakers win out and the Spurs win on Sunday, Denver would swap with them for the 3 seed and a potential second-round series against San Antonio.