Spurs hand Lakers historic blowout loss

Victor Wembanyama scored 37 of his 40 points in the first half, Carter Bryant added 16 points off the bench and the visiting San Antonio Spurs turned a fast start into a dominating 135-108 victory over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Dylan Harper scored 15 points and Harrison Barnes added 11 as the Spurs matched a season high with their fifth consecutive victory. Stephon Castle had seven assists in 12 minutes before he departed after sustaining a pelvic contusion in the second quarter and did not return.

Wembanyama also had 12 rebounds while going 13 of 20 from the floor and left for good in the third quarter with the game well in hand.

The Spurs won the season series 3-1 over the Lakers, who were missing Luka Doncic (hamstring), LeBron James (foot), Austin Reaves (calf) Deandre Ayton (knee) and Marcus Smart (ankle).

Drew Timme and Luke Kennard each scored 14 points for the Lakers, who have lost consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 15-17. Bronny James had a season-high 12 points in 25 minutes for Los Angeles.

While Doncic missed his third consecutive game, James and Reaves were out on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Spurs were aggressive from the jump, taking a 14-4 less than three minutes into the game and leading 47-30 after one quarter. It tied the franchise record for first-quarter points, with the Spurs last doing it in 1993.

San Antonio led by as many as 30 points in the second quarter and took an 84-55 lead into halftime. It was the second highest scoring first half in franchise history and the most ever scored against the Lakers in any half in franchise history.

Wembanyama departed for good with 4:13 remaining in the third after scoring his 40th point on a 3-pointer that gave the Spurs a 100-68 lead.

The Spurs shot 63.8% from the floor in the first half and 56.5% in the game. The Lakers were shooting 44.7% at the half and finished the game at 48.2%.