SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Stephon Castle had 17 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 115-102 on Monday night after Victor Wembanyama left in the first half due to a left rib contusion.
Wembanyama's status for the final week of the regular season is unknown.
San Antonio (60-19) is is 2 1/2 games behind Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City (62-16) and assured of finishing no worse than second
in the conference.
Philadelphia lost its second straight as it battles to stay out of the play-in tournament. The 76ers (43-36) are a half-game behind the Toronto Raptors (43-35) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George added 16 points.
Wembanyama did not play in the second half after taking an elbow from George near midcourt. Wembanyama was sprinting up-court when George attempted to deflect a pass, but instead struck the 22-year-old in the side at the 1:11 mark of the second quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court for about a minute before being subbed.
Wembanyama returned to play five more minutes before asking San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson to take him out of the game with 44 seconds left in the first half. He did not return.
San Antonio opened a four-game homestand to close its regular season before hosting the first two games of the opening round of the playoffs.
Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 15:40. It constitutes an official game per the NBA guidelines, which allow two exceptions of 15 to 19:59 minutes to count toward the league-required minimum of 65 games played for award eligibility. Wembanyama has said he wants to win the league's MVP award this season.
Wembanyama had played 63 games this season, including the NBA Cup Final.
Luke Kornet, who started the second half in place of Wembanyama, had 10 points and three rebounds.
It was Castle's fifth triple-double.
76ers: At Houston on Thursday.
Spurs: Host Portland on Wednesday.
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