Spurs' Wembanyama drops 40 in 26 minutes vs. Lakers, wanted more - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Victor Wembanyama began Tuesday night's game determined to make sure his San Antonio Spurs didn't play down to their competition against an undermanned opponent, which has been an occasional problem this season for the Western Conference's second-place team.

Wembanyama ended the 136-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers by watching the fourth quarter from the bench, wishing he could have kept piling up statistics after scoring 40 points in only 26 minutes.

«I was also pushing to go back, but I mean, they did the right thing by keeping me on the bench,» Wembanyama said. «We got to think long term. But yeah, these kind of games, you got to have the greed. I mean, every game you have to have this greed to want more every time, because you know at all times it doesn't matter who's on the court, it's somebody who's going to want to stop you from doing what you do out there. So you got to be greedy.»

It marked only the fifth instance in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) that a player scored at least 40 points in 26 or fewer minutes, according to ESPN Research. Wembanyama also grabbed 12 rebounds, joining Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing as the only players in NBA history to record a 40-point double-double in that few minutes.

The Lakers were missing four regular starters after center Deandre Ayton was a late scratch because of knee soreness and stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves were ruled out earlier in the day. Marcus Smart also didn't play for L.A.

Wembanyama ensured that the Spurs seized control from the opening tip, scoring 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting before checking out for the first time with 4:01 left in the first quarter. It was the third highest-scoring quarter in franchise history, trailing