The San Antonio Spurs fought back from a first-half deficit and defeated the Houston Rockets 121-110 Friday night in their opening game of the Emirates NBA Cup.

Victor Wembanyama scored 22 points, had eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks to lead the Spurs. Julian Champagnie also had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs.

However, it was Harrison Barnes and his three-point barrage that paced the Spurs, who improved to 6-2 win the victory. Barned led the Spurs with 24 points and was 8-of-11 from the field. He also made good on 6-of-10 triples.

Wembanyama outdueled Rockets' star Kevin Durant. Durant led the Rockets with 24 points, but only had one rebound and two assists. Durant was also postered on a dunk by Wembanyama in the second half which was a play made for SportsCenter.

The Spurs took over in the second half to put the game away. In the third quarter they started making their 3-point shots which allowed them to extend their one-point half time lead.

Barnes hit a triple in the first quarter to give the Spurs a 17-16 lead. At one point he was shooting over 60 percent from the land of three during the last two-plus games.

Keldon Johnson then scored on a kiss off the glass to seal a 10-2 Spurs run that gave them a three-point cushion in the first quarter.

The Rockets took a 25-23 lead into the second quarter as Tari Eason hit a 3-point jumper with three seconds to play in the first quarter.

Lindy Waters saw six minutes and delivered a triple to give the Spurs a temporary lead to start the second quarter. 

The Spurs then turned cold and missed their next five shots, while the Rockets were making their attempts. After a 3-point shot by Amen Thompson, who finished the night with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, the Rockets led 30-26.

After a Stephon Castle turnover, Reed Sheppard drilled a three-point shot to give the Rockets a 37-30 lead. The sequence propelled Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson to call a much-needed time out to settle his team down.

Champagnie hit a 3-pointer to stop a Rockets run and cut the lead to 43-36. For a while in the first half, it appeared as though the Rockets were going to win their seventh of nine against the Spurs. However, the Spurs and Wembanyama fought back in the second half, where they led 51-50 coming into the third quarter.

The Spurs had a 12-0 run at the end of the first half that erased a 50-39 Rockets lead. Devin Vassell hit a big three-point field goal as part of his 15 points on the night. The Spurs ended the half on an 11-0 run when Castle scored on a runner in the lane and drew the foul for the and one.

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. 

The Spurs will look to make it two in a row when they face the New Orleans Pelicans at the Frost Bank Center Saturday night.