The San Antonio Spurs kept rolling Monday night, but the biggest question after a 115-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers was Victor Wembanyama’s status. Head coach Mitch Johnson said he had no new information after Wembanyama left with a left rib contusion.
“Nothing. That’s not even placating anything. I’m not sure,” Johnson said. “I know he came back and he just didn’t finish. And so at halftime, I was told he wasn’t coming back.”
Johnson said the one encouraging sign was that Wembanyama tried to return before exiting for good.
“I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back and he played the last four or five minutes of the half,” Johnson said. “But I’d have nothing.”
Even without Wembanyama for the second half, the Spurs controlled the game and improved to 60-19. Johnson praised the team’s response after halftime.
“I was really proud of the group,” he said. “I thought in the first half we got away from ourselves just in terms of style of play and identity that we want to play with.”
That changed in the second half, when San Antonio leaned into its pace and structure.
“But in the second half, I thought we were great,” Johnson said. “I thought Luke stabilized the starting unit when he started the third. And I thought everybody participated in really trying to play our identity and our pace.”
Johnson also highlighted the energy from the bench units.
“The small ball lineup played well,” he said. “Carter and Keldon fought their butts off. And I thought Keldon did a great job fronting and making them fight for catches and pushing their offense out into the operating area.”
Stephon Castle delivered the kind of all-around game that has defined his recent rise, posting 17 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth triple-double. Johnson called it another example of the rookie’s growth.
“He’s an extremely talented young player,” Johnson said. “Getting 79 games in this league has allowed his talent to start to mirror and balance some experience.”
Johnson added that Castle has handled the grind of the season well.
“He’s done a great job in developing and taking it in stride,” he said. “As he continues to work hard and put energy in the right places, I have no hesitation he’ll continue to improve.”
De’Aaron Fox also drew praise after helping steady the Spurs in a physical matchup.
“I thought Fox did a great job at times imposing himself in the game,” Johnson said. “He did it in a very controlled, intentional way.”
Johnson said Fox’s balance mattered in a game that could have gotten messy.
“It’s hard to ref that game at times,” he said. “I thought Fox did a really good job of kind of drawing a line in the sand but then also making sure that we were steady.”
The Spurs have now secured at least the No. 2 seed in the West, but Johnson insisted the focus remains on growth.
“In 79 games we’ve done a hell of a job,” he said. “That’s a lot of wins this year, and it gives us a lot of hope to continue to push on and hold them accountable.”
