Spurs end 18-game skid, top Lakers for first win since Nov. 2 - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — When the Spurs' starters checked out for good with 1:40 remaining Friday night, it was a different feeling.

Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell walked to the end of the bench, high-fiving teammates on the way there. Following the Spurs' 129-115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the two shared a long embrace as San Antonio ended a franchise-record 18-game losing streak.

It was the Spurs' fourth win of the season, but it wasn't just any win for them.

«A hundred percent it didn't feel like a normal win,» Vassell said. «You see people jumping around on the sideline and everything.… I'm trying to stay composed. But at the end of the day, it's special. This is a special group.»

Wembanyama said «it's been a minute» since the Spurs had won a game, so it did feel a little better than usual.

«Kind of felt like a playoff game to me,» Wembanyama said. «But of course we have to feel good about it. We love that feeling. We want to repeat it, so yeah, we're going to keep working our ass off.»

It was the second game in three nights in San Antonio for the Lakers, who defeated the Spurs on Wednesday without LeBron James in the lineup. James returned for Friday's game, but the team was without Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish and D'Angelo Russell.

James, who finished with 23 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds, played 36 minutes in the first meeting between the No. 1 overall pick from the 2003 draft and the No. 1 overall pick from 2023.

In the final minute of the second quarter, James hit a corner 3-pointer over Wembanyama as the Lakers were making their comeback to cut the lead to a two-possession game.

When Wembanyama was asked if he could feel the eyes of everyone in the arena on him at that moment, he said, «Of course.»

«That was