SAN ANTONIO -- — Chris Paul moved into second place on the NBA's career assists list, Victor Wembanyama came back from an injury scare to score 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 121-116 on Sunday night.

Paul had 10 assists, giving him 12,099 for his career and moving him past former Phoenix and Dallas star Jason Kidd (12,091).

Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio, which snapped a three-game skid.

Wembanyama left the game with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter when he clutched his lower back. He had missed the previous two games with lower back soreness. But he returned to Sunday's game with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter.

Trey Murphy III scored 25 points and C.J. McCollum had 19 for the Pelicans. Dejounte Murray added 18 points and 11 assists and Yves Missi had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Takeaways

Pelicans: New Orleans' starting five scored 92 points.

Spurs: San Antonio lost Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson to injuries in the first half. Collins exited midway through the first quarter with a lower back injury when he landed on his right hip after fouling and tumbling over Murray on an attempted rebound. Johnson suffered a left calf injury with 7:11 remaining in the half.

Key moment

Paul assisted on Wembanyama’s 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to snap a five-minute scoring drought and put the Spurs up 117-116. Prior to Wembanyama’s 3, the Pelicans had a 13-0 run to take a 116-114 lead with a minute remaining in the game.

Key stat

The 39-year-old Paul moved into second place when the 20-year-old Wembanyama made a 25-foot 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining in the first half against New Orleans, the franchise where his 20-year career began.

Up next

Pelicans: Host Sacramento on Thursday night.

Spurs: At Portland on Friday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Yves Missi vs. Victor Wembanyama (Harrison Barnes gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Victor Wembanyama misses layup	0	0
11:43	Victor Wembanyama offensive rebound	0	0
11:41	Victor Wembanyama makes tip shot	2	0
11:26	Trey Murphy III makes 13-foot pullup jump shot (Dejounte Murray assists)	2	2
11:06	Julian Champagnie makes 25-foot three point jumper (Victor Wembanyama assists)	5	2
10:42	Herbert Jones misses driving layup	5	2
10:41	Yves Missi offensive rebound	5	2
10:39	Yves Missi misses two point shot	5	2
10:38	Yves Missi offensive rebound	5	2
10:37	Yves Missi makes tip shot	5	4
10:24	Harrison Barnes misses 23-foot three point jumper	5	4
10:22	Yves Missi defensive rebound	5	4
10:12	Dejounte Murray misses 24-foot three point jumper	5	4
10:08	Victor Wembanyama defensive rebound	5	4
10:02	Victor Wembanyama misses 23-foot three point shot	5	4
10:00	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	5	4
9:54	Victor Wembanyama blocks Yves Missi 's 2-foot two point shot	5	4
9:52	Julian Champagnie defensive rebound	5	4
9:46	Julian Champagnie misses 24-foot three point jumper	5	4
9:44	Yves Missi defensive rebound	5	4
9:34	Julian Champagnie personal foul	5	4
9:19	Herbert Jones misses driving floating jump shot	5	4
9:17	Yves Missi offensive rebound	5	4
9:15	Yves Missi misses 1-foot tip shot	5	4
9:14	Victor Wembanyama defensive rebound	5	4
9:08	Dejounte Murray blocks Victor Wembanyama 's 5-foot driving layup	5	4
9:06	Victor Wembanyama offensive rebound	5	4
9:05	Victor Wembanyama bad pass (Herbert Jones steals)	5	4
8:59	Trey Murphy III out of bounds bad pass turnover	5	4
8:59	Spurs Full timeout	5	4
8:59	Zach Collins enters the game for Victor Wembanyama	5	4
8:49	Yves Missi shooting foul	5	4
8:49	Stephon Castle makes free throw 1 of 2	6	4
8:49	Stephon Castle makes free throw 2 of 2	7	4
8:26	CJ McCollum makes 10-foot two point shot	7	6
8:07	Zach Collins makes driving layup	9	6
7:54	CJ McCollum makes 23-foot three point jumper (Dejounte Murray assists)	9	9
7:34	Julian Champagnie makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot (Stephon Castle assists)	12	9
7:26	Dejounte Murray makes 10-foot pullup jump shot	12	11
7:14	Julian Champagnie misses 24-foot three point jumper	12	11
7:12	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	12	11
7:05	Chris Paul shooting foul	12	11
7:05	Yves Missi makes free throw 1 of 2	12	12
7:05	Jeremy Sochan enters the game for Stephon Castle	12	12
7:05	Yves Missi misses free throw 2 of 2	12	12
7:04	Zach Collins defensive rebound	12	12
6:51	Chris Paul misses 18-foot pullup jump shot	12	12
6:49	Zach Collins offensive rebound	12	12
6:48	Zach Collins misses tip shot	12	12
6:47	Zach Collins offensive rebound	12	12
6:42	Chris Paul makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jeremy Sochan assists)	15	12
6:24	Trey Murphy III makes 27-foot three point jumper (CJ McCollum assists)	15	15
6:10	Julian Champagnie misses 25-foot three point jumper	15	15
6:08	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	15	15
5:56	Zach Collins personal foul	15	15
5:56	Keldon Johnson enters the game for Zach Collins	15	15
5:56	Devin Vassell enters the game for Harrison Barnes	15	15
5:56	Brandon Boston Jr. enters the game for CJ McCollum	15	15
5:49	Jeremy Sochan blocks Dejounte Murray 's 6-foot driving floating jump shot	15	15
5:47	Yves Missi offensive rebound	15	15
5:44	Jeremy Sochan shooting foul	15	15
5:44	Yves Missi makes free throw 1 of 2	15	16
5:44	Yves Missi makes free throw 2 of 2	15	17
5:31	Devin Vassell misses 22-foot three point step back jumpshot	15	17
5:29	Yves Missi defensive rebound	15	17
5:14	Yves Missi makes 1-foot dunk (Dejounte Murray assists)	15	19
5:03	Julian Champagnie misses two point shot	15	19
5:01	Trey Murphy III defensive rebound	15	19
4:58	Trey Murphy III misses running pullup jump shot	15	19
4:56	Yves Missi offensive rebound	15	19
4:55	Jeremy Sochan blocks Yves Missi's two point shot	15	19
4:54	Spurs defensive team rebound	15	19
4:54	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl enters the game for Trey Murphy III	15	19
4:40	Chris Paul misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	15	19
4:38	Dejounte Murray defensive rebound	15	19
4:32	Jeremy Sochan personal foul	15	19
4:32	Dejounte Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	15	20
4:32	Dejounte Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	15	21
4:20	Yves Missi shooting foul	15	21
4:20	Keldon Johnson makes free throw 1 of 2	16	21
4:20	Stephon Castle enters the game for Chris Paul	16	21
4:20	Charles Bassey enters the game for Julian Champagnie	16	21
4:20	Antonio Reeves enters the game for Yves Missi	16	21
4:20	Keldon Johnson makes free throw 2 of 2	17	21
4:06	Brandon Boston Jr. makes 25-foot jump bank shot (Herbert Jones assists)	17	24
3:45	Devin Vassell makes driving dunk (Keldon Johnson assists)	19	24
3:33	Dejounte Murray misses 28-foot three point pullup jump shot	19	24
3:31	Jeremy Sochan defensive rebound	19	24
3:23	Devin Vassell misses 27-foot three point jumper	19	24
3:21	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl defensive rebound	19	24
3:09	Antonio Reeves misses 22-foot three point jumper	19	24
3:07	Stephon Castle defensive rebound	19	24
3:01	Stephon Castle misses driving floating jump shot	19	24
2:59	Stephon Castle offensive rebound	19	24
2:58	Stephon Castle misses tip shot	19	24
2:57	Herbert Jones defensive rebound	19	24
2:53	Dejounte Murray makes two point shot	19	26
2:53	Keldon Johnson shooting foul	19	26
2:53	Pelicans Full timeout	19	26
2:53	Trey Murphy III enters the game for Herbert Jones	19	26
2:53	Dejounte Murray makes free throw 1 of 1	19	27
2:34	Charles Bassey makes 1-foot dunk (Keldon Johnson assists)	21	27
2:22	Devin Vassell personal foul	21	27
2:22	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 1 of 2	21	28
2:22	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 2 of 2	21	29
2:22	CJ McCollum enters the game for Dejounte Murray	21	29
2:08	Keldon Johnson bad pass (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl steals)	21	29
2:07	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl bad pass (Jeremy Sochan steals)	21	29
2:02	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl blocks Jeremy Sochan's driving dunk	21	29
2:00	Charles Bassey offensive rebound	21	29
2:00	Charles Bassey makes two point shot	23	29
1:45	Brandon Boston Jr. makes 17-foot step back jumpshot	23	31
1:38	Antonio Reeves shooting foul	23	31
1:38	Keldon Johnson makes free throw 1 of 2	24	31
1:38	Keldon Johnson makes free throw 2 of 2	25	31
1:26	CJ McCollum misses 25-foot three point jumper	25	31
1:24	Stephon Castle defensive rebound	25	31
1:14	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl shooting foul	25	31
1:14	Charles Bassey misses free throw 1 of 2	25	31
1:14	Spurs offensive team rebound	25	31
1:14	Charles Bassey makes free throw 2 of 2	26	31
1:00	Trey Murphy III misses driving floating jump shot	26	31
57.1	Devin Vassell defensive rebound	26	31
56.0	Devin Vassell bad pass (Antonio Reeves steals)	26	31
54.0	Trey Murphy III makes 25-foot three point jumper (Antonio Reeves assists)	26	34
35.1	Jeremy Sochan misses 23-foot three point jumper	26	34
35.1	Brandon Boston Jr. defensive rebound	26	34
26.1	Brandon Boston Jr. misses 26-foot three point jumper	26	34
24.0	Keldon Johnson defensive rebound	26	34
20.1	Charles Bassey makes two point shot (Keldon Johnson assists)	28	34
4.1	Charles Bassey blocks Antonio Reeves 's 2-foot driving layup	28	34
3.1	Stephon Castle defensive rebound	28	34
0.0	Stephon Castle misses 29-foot three point pullup jump shot	28	34
0.0	Spurs offensive team rebound	28	34
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	28	34

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Frost Bank Center

San Antonio, TX

Date & Time

12:00 AM, December 9, 2024

Coverage

NBA League Pass, GCSEN, FanDuel SN SW

Attendance

16,840

Referees

Sean Wright, Marat Kogut, Nate Green

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Wembanyama helps Spurs beat Pelicans, 121-116, as Paul moves into second in career assists

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