Wembanyama 16 pts/16 reb but Spurs fall to Pelicans 95-104

Victor Wembanyama delivered a valiant double-double on January 25, 2026, but it was not enough to prevent the San Antonio Spurs from falling to the New Orleans Pelicans 95-104 at Frost Bank Center in a regular season contest that slipped away in the final quarter. A dominant duo on the opposing side ultimately proved too much for San Antonio to overcome.

A tight first half gives way to a Pelicans surge

The opening two quarters told the story of a competitive, balanced game. Both teams traded blows in the paint, with the Spurs leaning on their supporting cast to stay afloat. Keldon Johnson provided energy off early possessions, while De’Aaron Fox orchestrated the half-court offense with 7 assists on the night. The Pelicans, however, were building momentum quietly behind Zion Williamson, who attacked the rim relentlessly and finished with 10-of-18 from the field.

The third quarter proved critical. New Orleans began to assert themselves physically, outpacing San Antonio in transition and converting at a higher clip. Saddiq Bey emerged as a secondary threat, draining corner threes and attacking mismatches to complement Williamson’s interior dominance. The Spurs struggled to respond with consistent offense, and the deficit began to stretch beyond a comfortable margin.

By the fourth quarter, a late Pelicans run effectively closed the door. San Antonio, unable to generate clean looks despite several attempts to claw back, fell victim to their own shooting inconsistencies — a theme that haunted the entire evening. The final buzzer confirmed a nine-point defeat, 95-104.

Wembanyama outrebounded everyone, Williamson and Bey dominated scoring

The pivotal sequence of the night was the Pelicans’ ability to neutralize the French phenom defensively while unleashing their own offensive firepower. Williamson posted a commanding double-double — 24 points and 10 rebounds — while Bey matched him identically with 24 points and 10 rebounds, adding three made threes and going 7-of-9 from the free-throw line. Trey Murphy III chipped in 17 points and a game-high 9 assists, effectively serving as the engine of New Orleans’ ball movement. The Spurs had no answer for that trio collectively.

Wembanyama: a double-double that couldn’t tilt the outcome

The n°1 pick of the 2023 draft finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 31 minutes, posting one of his more impactful rebounding performances of the season. However, shooting woes undermined his night significantly — the Spurs’ cornerstone connected on just 6-of-16 from the field, including a troubling 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. His plus/minus of -12 reflected the team’s broader struggles when the game was on the line.

• Victor Wembanyama: 16 pts, 16 reb, 4 blk, 6/16 FG, 31 min
• Keldon Johnson: 15 pts, 2 reb, 6/12 FG
• Julian Champagnie: 13 pts, 4 reb, 6/6 FT
• Devin Vassell: 13 pts, 1 reb, 5/12 FG
• De’Aaron Fox: 12 pts, 7 ast, 4/8 FG

Context: shooting regression hurts San Antonio’s momentum

This defeat underscores a recurring vulnerability for the Spurs this season — the team’s reliance on three-point volume without the efficiency to back it up. San Antonio attempted a combined barrage from deep but converted at an underwhelming rate across the roster, including the pivot himself going 2-of-10 from range. Physically, as Sports Illustrated noted, the Pelicans imposed their size and will, pushing San Antonio around in the second half in a way that exposed real defensive and rotational gaps.

What’s next: the Spurs need a response

San Antonio drops this home game and will need to regroup quickly. The young core around Wembanyama remains the foundation of long-term optimism, but the Spurs must find a way to protect leads and limit the kind of explosive dual-threat nights that Williamson and Bey delivered on Sunday. Every game in the regular season’s second half carries weight in the Western Conference standings, and the pivot’s ability to anchor both ends will be central to any turnaround the Spurs hope to engineer going forward.