Julian Champagnie scores 26 and Spurs cruise to 11th straight win, 126-110 over Nets

NEW YORK (AP) — Julian Champagnie scored 26 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their 11th straight victory, 126-110 over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.

Victor Wembanyama had his second straight quiet night offensively, finishing with 12 points, but the surging Spurs had plenty of balance against the lottery-bound Nets. Stephon Castle scored 18 points, De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell had 14 apiece, Keldon Johnson scored 13 and Dylan Harper had 12.

San Antonio (43-16) is on its longest winning streak since it won 13 straight in the 2015-16 season.

Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost six straight. Reserve Day’Ron Sharpe had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

It took San Antonio all of 13 seconds to take a lead it would not relinquish. Wembanyama won the opening tip and dropped a pass to a cutting Castle for a spectacular two-handed dunk. By the end of the opening period, Castle had 13 points and the Spurs led 36-22.

San Antonio extended its lead to 48-26, on a 3 by Champagnie 2:20 into the second quarter. The Spurs led 71-56 at halftime.

Brooklyn used a 13-4 spurt in the first 3:26 of the third quarter to cut the deficit to six. But any comeback hopes Brooklyn harbored were dashed by the Spurs, who finished the quarter with a 104-84 lead.

Spurs: Cross the East River for a nationally televised matchup against the Knicks on Sunday.

Nets: At Boston on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, left, defends a shot by Brooklyn Nets' Noah Clowney (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, left, and Stephon Castle, right, defends Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

San Antonio Spurs' Stephon Castle, right, drives past Brooklyn Nets' Noah Clowney, center, and Michael Porter Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, right, and Stephon Castle, left, defend a shot by Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

San Antonio Spurs' Julian Champagnie (30) gestures after making a three-point shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented President Donald Trump with a mock newspaper front page during a visit to the White House on Thursday to discuss massive new housing investments in the city.

It’s a tactic designed to appeal to Trump, who is keenly aware of his media coverage and, aside from being an avid viewer of cable news, is known to voraciously consume coverage in the local New York City publications. The Republican president and Democratic mayor have maintained a cordial relationship since their first meeting last fall.

Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director, said the mayor’s team created a mock front page and headlines for Trump to look at and demonstrate what kind of reaction new federal housing investments could bring. The mock New York Daily News front page says “Trump to City: Let’s Build” — a riff on the famous 1975 cover that read “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” referring to Gerald Ford’s vow to veto financial assistance to the city.

The mayor posted the photo of their meeting, featuring the front pages, to his social media page.

Bahr said Trump was “very enthusiastic” about Mamdani's proposal, which would allow 12,000 new affordable homes to be built at Sunnyside Yard in Queens by securing more than $21 billion in federal grants to build a deck over the rail yard site. The mayor's office estimates that the project could create 30,000 jobs and would be the biggest housing and infrastructure investment in more than 50 years.

When Trump and Mamdani last met in November, the president encouraged Mamdani to return to him with an idea to build big things together in New York City, Bahr said.

Though Trump repeatedly maligned Mamdani as a “communist” as he ran for New York City mayor, the president appeared charmed by him after their one-on-one meeting at the White House in November.

At the meeting on Thursday – which was previously unannounced and lasted for about an hour – Mamdani also brought up the detainment of Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University student from Azerbaijan who was arrested earlier Thursday by federal immigration agents.

The agents had accessed a campus residence by claiming they were searching for a “missing person,” according to Aghayeva’s attorneys and Columbia’s president. As he met with Trump, Mamdani urged Trump to consider releasing her.

In a phone call not long after their White House meeting, Trump told the mayor that Aghayeva would be released. Mamdani also gave White House chief of staff Susie Wiles a list of four other students targeted by federal authorities and asked for the administration’s help with them.

The four students are Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia, who were all detained for their roles in pro-Palestinian protests. Of the four, only Kordia remains in custody, although all cases are proceeding through the courts.

“Mayor Mamdani is absolutely right to call on President Trump to release Leqaa Kordia, the beloved daughter of an American citizen," Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia's cousin, said in a statement. “For nearly a year, my cousin Leqaa has been locked away in ICE detention, robbed of precious birthdays, holidays, and irreplaceable moments with her family. She has endured fear, isolation, and even suffered a seizure while trapped behind those walls. This is not justice. This is not humanity.”

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference in Morningside Heights, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)