The San Antonio Spurs continue to roll as they knocked off the Boston Celtics 125-116 for their 16th win in the last 17 games.
Victor Wembanyama led the way with 39 points as he tied his career-high for made 3s with eight. De'Aaron Fox put up an efficient 25 points and 9 assists on just 14 shots, while former Spur Derrick White looked spectacular in his homecoming game with 34 points and 7 assists.
"He's kicked into another gear, for sure," Mitch Johnson said of Fox, who has been on a tear of late. "I think the eye test proves it. I think his numbers prove it. I think that's an adult who's hitting his stride and turning it on when we need to and when he's trying to lead by example, and we need it."
The chess match between Joe Mazzulla and Mitch Johnson was fascinating from the jump. Johnson has often stuck Wembanyama on the shooter in the weak-side corner and let him roam around while the perimeter defenders rotate over when necessary. Mazzulla countered by overloading the strong side and engaging Wembanyama in the play, leaving Sam Hauser and other shooters with plenty of open looks as they started 9-17 from deep.
"I think that's a pretty consistent plan we've seen now with him, obviously try to get two on the ball and hurt us on the backside," Johnson said. "I think it's as much of just trying to minimize the advantage that that person is getting when they engage Victor, which then should hopefully allow us to rotate and get to the backside, or at times, maybe Victor doesn't even have to commit all the way. So again, some of that early on was not schematic."
Wemby rotated over from the left corner to block it on the right side of the rim
Unrealpic.twitter.com/Vt7LuUxxGI
β Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) March 11, 2026
"You have to at some point guard the guy in front of you," Johnson said. "We jumped at a lot of shot fakes. We got rejected at times in pick and roll. We got a straight line drive in isolation. There's no scheme or coverage for that. That's 'Do better.' And then there's some schematic stuff that will continue to get better. Forget personnel, which they have in elite level, the cleanest offense in last few years, at the top of this in the league. And they, they make you pay."
On the end of the floor, Boston was committed to keeping Wembanyama out of the paint. Wembanyama said, 'That's ok!' and let it fly from deep over and over and over again. He had 29 points in the first three quarters with just two attempts inside the arc.
HEβS HEATING UP π₯π₯
pic.twitter.com/cT0EbuFjFm
β Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) March 11, 2026
"He did a good job with his mechanics of being disciplined, and he's shown he can obviously get out and make shots, and it really can put defenses in a tough place in terms of how they want to play, because if you take the gravity away from him, obviously he can open up the rest of the floor," Johnson said.
"We did a good job at times, and especially as his game went on, of trying to continue to play with pace and move the ball," Johnson said. "They protect the pain so well with bodies that if you don't move the ball, whether that's north south, off misses or makes or east west, when they showed the crowd ball reversals and letting the balls move side to side, they can really get you playing in mud."
Rookie Carter Bryant knocked down some outside shots early, and the guard pair of De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle combined for 23 points, 8 assists and 9 rebounds in the first half.
pic.twitter.com/x9aml2zEke https://t.co/Fr1DD60B8O
β Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) March 11, 2026
In the second quarter Castle was playing some physical defense on Jaylen Brown who dribbled it out of bounds and went absolutely ballistic when he didn't get the call. He got a tech, went back for seconds, got bounced from the game, and practically had to be carried off the court.
The ref gave Jaylen Brown every opportunity to walk away and he just flat out did not want to
Something broke in his brain for a second πpic.twitter.com/n1LyxAt6vj
β Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) March 11, 2026
Former Spur Derrick White went right at Wemby in the third quarter, hitting a layup and a 3 over the outstretched arms of the alien. Wembanyama came back and stuffed him, and Derrick went right back with multiple fakes in the restricted area before sneaking in a shot.
White was stellar, but cramped up at the end of the third. San Antonio built their lead up to 10 points, but Jayson Tatum responded with a 7-0 run as he continues to look crisp in his return from an achilles tear.
White came back into the game and looked a little hobbled, and the Spurs attacked him on the ball and off it to get open shots.
Wembanyama hit another 3, then dunked on only his fourth two-point attempt of the game, then splashed another triple to make it 39 points on the night. Devin Vassell hit a jumper, then picked off a pass and laid it up and in to make it a 10-point game again.
Mason Plumlee checked in with under a minute left to make his Spurs debut, and banged the drum after the win. Castle finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and Vassell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 14.
MASON ON THE DRUM π£οΈπ₯ pic.twitter.com/ACWmJjCuJt
β San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 11, 2026
San Antonio's difficult homestand continues on Thursday when they host the always-tough Denver Nuggets. The Spurs are now 48-17 on the season, and the league's best record is still within reach.