Jarrett Allen recorded his seventh straight double-double with 29 points and 16 rebounds as the host Cleveland Cavaliers extended San Antonio’s losing streak to five games with a 117-115 win on Sunday.
Caris LeVert scored 23 points and Sam Merrill had 18 points on five 3-pointers for Cleveland, which won its third straight. The Cavaliers’ reserves outscored San Antonio’s bench 60-38 with LeVert and Merrill leading the way.
Victor Wembanyama paced the Spurs with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Devin Vassell added 22 points, Tre Jones and Keldon Johnson scored 18 apiece, and Jeremy Sochan had 11.
San Antonio trailed by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter before cutting the deficit 117-115 with 42 seconds left after Wembanyama’s layup capped an 11-0 run.
Wembanyama blocked a shot on the Cavaliers’ final possession, but Cleveland escaped with the win after Sochan’s shot from midcourt at the buzzer missed the mark.
Donovan Mitchell had 17 points and nine assists for Cleveland, which improved to 13-2 this season against teams below .500. Georges Niang chipped in 11 points off the bench.
San Antonio claimed a 14-point lead late in the first quarter before Cleveland closed on a 16-6 run to cut the deficit to 32-28. Vassell had 12 points in the period.
The Cavaliers settled in and moved ahead 47-43 midway through the second period on back-to-back 3-pointers by Merrill and Niang. Cleveland took a 62-56 lead into intermission.
Merrill had 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in the first half to lead all scorers.
LeVert hit a buzzer-beating trey at the end of the third quarter to give the Cavaliers an 88-84 lead entering the final period.
Cleveland used a 14-2 run to extend its lead to 107-93 midway through the fourth quarter.
Cleveland shot 48.9 percent from the field, including 16 of 43 (37.2 percent) from 3-point range, and improved to 7-2 in its past nine meetings against the Spurs.
San Antonio connected on 47.7 percent of its shots and was 14 of 37 (37.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media