Victor Wembanyama, Spurs drop a franchise-record 17th straight game in loss to Rockets

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have dropped to a new historic low.

The Spurs fell to the Houston Rockets 93-82 on Monday night at the Toyota Center. That marked the team’s 17th straight loss, which set a new franchise record.

The Spurs dropped their 16th straight game in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, which tied their franchise record. Monday's loss dropped them to 3-19 on the year, which marks the worst start in franchise history through 22 games. Wembanyama still had 21 points and 20 rebounds in that loss to the Bulls, however, which made him the youngest player in league history with a 20-point, 20-rebound game.

The Rockets led for much of the second half Monday night, and mounted a 12-4 run midway through the third quarter before holding on late to grab the 11-point win. Houston held the Spurs to just 15 points in the third quarter, which has been an area of concern for the franchise. The Spurs entered Monday being outscored by 146 points in the third quarter alone, which was just 10 points shy of the league-worst mark the Miami Heat had all last season.

Wembanyama led the Spurs with 15 points and 18 rebounds in the loss, and he shot 7-of-15 from the field. He also had a ridiculous dunk over Rockets center Alperen Sengun in the second half.

Devin Vassell added 14 points for the Spurs, and Malaki Branham finished with 13 points and seven assists. The Spurs shot an awful 5-of-41 from the 3-point line as a team, which is just better than 12%.

Tari Eason led the Rockets with 18 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Fred VanVleet added 16 points, 10 of which came in the first half, and Sengun finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Houston shot just 34.4% from the field as a team. The win marked its 10th straight at home.

While the Spurs’ losing streak is bad, they’ve still got a ways to go to set the NBA’s all-time record. The Philadelphia 76ers lost 28 straight games from the end of the 2014-15 campaign into the start of the 2015-16 season. The 76ers also hold the single-season losing streak record at 26 games during the 2013-14 season. The Spurs’ losing streak isn’t even the worst active streak in the league right now. The Detroit Pistons dropped their 20th straight game Monday when they fell to the Indiana Pacers, which is just one game back from the longest such streak in their franchise history.

The Spurs will have a chance to snap their losing skid Wednesday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers.