SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Stephon Castle had 17 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-102, on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) after Victor Wembanyama left in the first half due to a left rib contusion.
Wembanyama’s status for the final week of the regular season is unknown.
San Antonio (60-19) is 2 1/2 games behind Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City (62-16) and assured of finishing no worse than second in the conference.
Philadelphia lost its second straight as it battles to stay out of the play-in tournament. The 76ers (43-36) are a half-game behind the Toronto Raptors (43-35) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George added 16 points.
Wembanyama did not play in the second half after taking an elbow from George near midcourt. Wembanyama was sprinting up-court when George attempted to deflect a pass, but instead struck the 22-year-old in the side at the 1:11 mark of the second quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court for about a minute before being subbed.
Wembanyama returned to play five more minutes before asking San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson to take him out of the game with 44 seconds left in the first half. He did not return.
San Antonio opened a four-game home stand to close its regular season before hosting the first two games of the opening round of the playoffs.
Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 15:40. It constitutes an official game per the NBA guidelines, which allow two exceptions of 15 to 19:59 minutes to count toward the league-required minimum of 65 games played for award eligibility. Wembanyama has said he wants to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season.
Wembanyama had played 63 games this season, including the NBA Cup Final.
Luke Kornet, who started the second half in place of Wembanyama, had 10 points and three rebounds.
It was Castle’s fifth triple-double.
Cavaliers 142, Grizzlies 126
In Memphis, the Memphis Grizzlies made 29 three-pointers against Cleveland, matching an NBA single-game record.
And it wasn’t enough.
Nine Grizzlies made at least one 3 in a 141-126 loss to the Cavaliers. The Grizzlies shot 49.2 percent (29 for 59) from deep and 45.7 percent (16 for 35) from inside the arc.
The three-point record had been shared by Milwaukee and Boston. The Bucks made 29 3s in a 144-97 victory at Miami on Dec. 29, 2020, and the Celtics equaled the record in a 132-109 win against the New York Knicks on Oct. 22, 2024.
“I think we can be pretty proud of how we played with this group today on the court,” Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “Guys wanted to go for it in the end, and we were all for it. Unfortunately couldn’t set a singular record, but tied it. Nonetheless, very proud of our group.”
The Grizzlies made 10 3s in the first quarter, three in the second, six in the third and 10 in the final period.
The Cavaliers went 12 for 32 from 3 for the game.
“Incredible shooting performance by the Grizzlies. Give them credit,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They shot the heck out of the ball.”
Memphis reserves Adama Bal and Dariq Whitehead each made six three-pointers. Lucas Williamson went 5 for 12 from deep, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper was 4 for 5.