Victor Wembanyama scores 42 points in the Spurs' 133-126 OT victory over the Hawks

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored eight of his 42 points in overtime and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 133-126 on Thursday night.

Wembanyama was 13 for 24 from the field, going 7 of 15 on 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals.

De’Andre Hunter scored 27 points for Atlanta. Trae Young had 23 points and 16 assists and Jalen Johnson added 22 points.

Devin Vassell added 23 points for San Antonio, and Jeremy Sochan had 20. Chris Paul scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a four-point play that helped the Spurs reach overtime.

Vassell returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season after missing the first nine games of the season following offseason foot surgery. His return allowed San Antonio to open with its projected starting lineup for the first time this season.

Hawks: Dyson Daniels, who was averaging 13.4 points, was held to four points on 2-for-6 shooting. Daniels had five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Spurs: Wembanyama has scored 30-plus points in 13 games over 92 career games. He entered the game averaging 23.7 points per game, topping his 21.4 scoring average last season as a rookie.

The Hawks and the Spurs traded four straight 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds with Atlanta holding a 118-115 lead following 3s by Young, Vassell and Johnson. Paul was fouled on his subsequent 3-pointer and his free throw put San Antonio ahead 119-118 with 57 seconds remaining.

San Antonio opened the second half on a 25-14 run in taking an 85-80 lead after trailing by 11 points in the first half.

Both teams are back in action Saturday night. Atlanta hosts Memphis, and San Antonio remains at home to face Portland.

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Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) reacts as he drives to the basket between San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) attempts a shot against Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) blocks a shot by San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (0) reacts after the Spurs score on the Atlanta Hawks during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, left, attempts a shot against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, right, attempts a layup against San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, center, converses with a game official after a play during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul, right, gets pressure from Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) swats at a shot attempt by Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) goes for a shot against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) puts pressure on San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)

Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

Republicans abandoned a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk came out against it. Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson to essentially renegotiate the deal days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.

On Thursday, Republicans did just that, putting together a revamped government funding proposal that would keep the government running for three more months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the bill failed overwhelmingly in a House vote hours later, leaving next steps uncertain.

Early Friday, some of Johnson's biggest critics brought their grievances to a private meeting in his Capitol office to seek a way forward, but some expressed doubts a new vote would happen before the deadline.

Here's what to know about a possible government shutdown, what agencies would be affected and how long it could last:

A government shutdown happens when Congress doesn't pass legislation either temporarily or more permanently funding the government, and such a measure isn't signed by the president.

If Congress doesn’t approve a continuing resolution or more permanent spending measure by Friday, the federal government will shut down.

When the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Congress passed a temporary funding bill to keep the government in operation.

That measure expires on Friday.

Each federal agency determines its own plan for how to handle a shutdown, but basically any government operations deemed non-essential stop happening, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees see their work disrupted.

Sometimes workers are furloughed, meaning that they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens. Other federal workers may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation that they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.

The basic rules for who works and who doesn’t date back to the early 1980s and haven’t been significantly modified since. Under a precedent-setting memorandum penned by then-President Ronald Reagan budget chief David Stockman, federal workers are exempted from furloughs if their jobs are national security-related or if they perform essential activities that “protect life and property.”

Essential government agencies like the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard remain open. Transportation Security Administration officers would continue to staff airport checkpoints. The U.S. Postal Service also won't be affected because it’s an independent agency.

But national parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defense would be sent home. Court systems would be affected, too, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.

Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.

No. Recipients of both Social Security and Medicare would continue to receive their benefits, which are part of mandatory spending that's not subject to annual appropriations measures. Doctors and hospitals would also continue to get their Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

But it's possible that new applications wouldn't be processed. During a government shutdown in 1996, thousands of Medicare applicants were turned away daily.

When Congress is down to the wire on passing measures to fund the federal government, the term “CR” often comes up. What does it mean?

“CR” stands for “continuing resolution,” and it’s a temporary spending bill that lets the federal government stay open and operating before Congress and the president have approved a more permanent appropriation.

A “clean CR” is essentially a bill that extends existing appropriations, at the same levels as the prior fiscal year.

It's a massive, all-encompassing measure that lawmakers generally had little time to digest — or understand — before voting on it.

There are a lot of spending measures all rolled into one, and sometimes that’s what happens if the dozen separate funding measures haven’t worked their way through the congressional spending process in time to be passed in order to fund the federal government.

But Republicans opted against an omnibus this time, hoping instead to renegotiate all federal spending next year when Trump is in the White House and they will control both chambers of Congress.

Maybe — and maybe not.

There is often a scramble on Capitol Hill to put together a last-minute funding package to keep the government open just before a deadline, at least temporarily. But shutdowns have happened, most recently six years ago, when Trump demanded funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That shutdown was the longest in U.S. history.

Jimmy Carter saw a shutdown every year during his term as president. And there were six shutdowns during Reagan's time in the White House.

Kinnard reported from Charleston, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

FILE—Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., joined from left by Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., leaves a news conference after presenting his final version of an interim pending bill to his caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has now abruptly rejected the bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he's telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)