Thompson Denies Wembanyama at the Rim as Rockets Edge Spurs 114-110

AUSTIN, Texas — With five seconds left and the game hanging in the balance, the San Antonio Spurs did the obvious thing. They gave the ball to Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 French star spun toward the basket, rose for the tying layup, and met something he rarely meets at the rim: a clean, emphatic rejection.

Amen Thompson, listed at 6-foot-7, timed his leap perfectly, swatted Wembanyama's attempt away, and sealed the Houston Rockets' 114-110 victory over the Spurs on Friday night at Moody Center. Fred VanVleet collected the loose ball, was fouled, and made both free throws to provide the final margin. Houston improved to 2-0 to start the 2026-27 NBA season, while San Antonio fell to 0-2.

It was, by any measure, an extraordinary defensive play. Wembanyama has an eight-foot wingspan and a habit of finishing over smaller defenders with ease. Thompson has a seven-foot reach, uncommon leaping ability, and no fear of the matchup. On the final possession, San Antonio point guard De'Aaron Fox floated a pass over Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. to Wembanyama near the basket. Wembanyama turned toward the rim outside the restricted area and went up, expecting what usually follows: a dunk, or at worst a foul. Thompson rose with him and sent the ball away without fouling or goaltending.

"I just knew they were going to try to get probably me or one of the other smaller guys on him," Thompson said afterward. "I jump pretty high, so I wouldn't try to keep ducking in on me."

His teammates were less restrained. Kevin Durant, who rushed over to celebrate with Thompson as the sellout crowd groaned in disbelief, called the play remarkable in its purest form. "Man, what an incredible block," Durant said. "It was just insane, man. As soon as your feet hit the ground, to be able to bounce back up so quick, that's rare in any human. To be 6-7, dunk the ball and block shots like a center is insane."

Thompson's line told only part of the story. He finished with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. He also finished with a team-worst minus-12 in the plus-minus column, a reminder that one number rarely captures a player's night. What the box score could not show was the trust Houston coach Ime Udoka placed in him on the final possession, leaving the smaller defender alone against the most difficult cover in basketball and watching him win the matchup cleanly.

The drama of the finish should not obscure how Houston won the game. Alperen Sengun was the best offensive player on the floor, scoring a game-high 29 points with seven rebounds and seven assists on 10-of-20 shooting. He scored 18 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and eight straight points in the final period as Houston held off San Antonio's rally. It was his 35th career game with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, tying Steve Francis for the second-most such games by a Rockets player before age 25.

"They kind of tried a couple of things, and they were doubling," Sengun said. "So I've just got to read the game. If they're not doubling, I'm going to work. If they're doubling, I'm trying to find my teammates. At the end of the game, they decided not to double and then I went to work."

Durant added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a homecoming game for the former University of Texas star, including a critical three-pointer with 1:34 remaining that pushed Houston ahead 112-108. VanVleet finished with 14 points, five assists and three steals, and his calm at the free-throw line closed the game after Thompson's block.

San Antonio, meanwhile, left Austin with a second straight defeat and plenty to study. Wembanyama finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds on 9-of-21 shooting, bouncing back from a difficult opener but still searching for efficiency. He banked in a long three-pointer on the possession before the block, but it did not count because Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had called timeout with five seconds left before Wembanyama released the ball. Dylan Harper scored 20 points, including a driving dunk with 46 seconds left that cut Houston's lead to two, while De'Aaron Fox added 19 points and nine assists and Stephon Castle contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

For San Antonio, the 0-2 start is an early warning rather than a verdict. The Spurs lost their opener to Oklahoma City, and 80 games remain before the playoffs. Harper struck a measured tone afterward, noting that the group is still learning how to play together and that details, especially late-game stops, will decide close games like this one. Johnson was even shorter, telling concerned fans he hoped they would stay around for the next 80 games.

For Houston, the win carries a different message. The Rockets have now won their first two games, their first 2-0 start since the 2017-18 season, and they have done it with defense deciding the final possession. Sengun gives them a hub on offense, Durant gives them a closer, VanVleet gives them composure, and Thompson gives them something rarer: a defender willing to meet Wembanyama at the summit and win.

Up next, Houston visits Atlanta on Saturday night, while San Antonio travels to Dallas. Both teams will move on quickly, as early-season schedules demand. But one play from Austin will travel further than the rest: a 6-foot-7 guard, rising against a 7-foot-4 star, refusing to concede the final shot — and rewriting the ending of a game that looked, for a second, already written.