Spurs win 11th straight, finishing undefeated February and closing in on Thunder for West's best record

The San Antonio Spurs won their 11th consecutive game Thursday with a 126-110 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. With their next game Sunday, the Spurs finished February undefeated. San Antonio's last defeat was Jan. 31, a 111-106 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

The 11-game winning streak is the third longest in the NBA this season, following the Oklahoma City Thunder's 16 straight wins and the Detroit Pistons' 13 consecutive victories. 

Coupled with the Thunder's loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the Spurs are now only 1.5 games back of OKC for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The two teams don't play each other again for the remainder of the regular season. San Antonio has 23 games left; Oklahoma City has 22. 

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Julian Champagnie led the Spurs with 26 points (shooting 6-of-9 on 3-pointers), 3 steals and 2 blocks. Stephon Castle followed with 18 points, making 10-of-12 free throws. Devin Vassell scored 14 points, hitting 4-of-7 3s, with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. And Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks as San Antonio improved to 43-16. 

Champagnie said "it means everything" to return to New York, where he played college basketball at St. John's and grew up on Staten Island, and have a great game in front of hometown fans. He told the Spurs TV broadcast team that he had to buy 17 tickets for family and friends.

San Antonio ran out to a 36-22 lead in the first quarter, led by 13 points from Castle. Brooklyn opened the third quarter with a 13-4 run that cut its deficit to 75-69 with 8:34 remaining in the frame. But the Spurs closed out the quarter by outscoring the Nets 29-15. 

"It feels like the players are finding different ways to win," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game, via the San Antonio Express-News. "That's a sign of growth."

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Brooklyn was led by Michael Porter Jr.'s 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Danny Wolf and Day'Ron Sharpe each contributed 14 points off the bench. With the loss, the Nets dropped to 15-43, the second-worst record in the East and third-worst in the NBA. 

The 11-0 February was the third undefeated month in Spurs history and first since a 16-0 March during the 2013-14 season.

The Spurs next face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden for a nationally televised Sunday matinee at 1 p.m ET. By then, they could be within a game of the Thunder, who host the Denver Nuggets on Friday.