NBA Roundup: Victor Wembanyama’s Stellar Performance Leads Spurs to OT Victory 130-126
Victor Wembanyama, scoring a career-high 40 points and securing 20 rebounds, to guide the San Antonio Spurs to an exciting overtime victory against the New York Knicks with a final score of 130-126.
In addition, Wembanyama pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds and dished out seven assists. The Spurs needed all of that to hold off New York’s Jalen Brunson, who scored a game-high 61 points.
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Wembanyama’s two free throws with 24 seconds remaining knotted the score for San Antonio, forcing overtime. With 3:35 remaining, Tre Jones made a floater, and with 2:56 remaining, Wembanyama extended the Spurs’ lead to 125-121. With 1:12 remaining, Brunson’s layup trimmed the lead to one point, but Wembanyama’s three-pointer made it 128-124.
With five seconds remaining, Brunson attempted a 3-point shot, but it missed, and the Knicks wasted the rebound, cutting New York’s deficit to two points thanks to a putback by Mitchell Robinson. Brunson fell short of the Knicks single-game scoring record by one point, as Carmelo Anthony’s 62-point performance against the Charlotte Bobcats on January 25, 2014, remains the franchise mark.
Heat 142, Trail Blazers 82
In just three quarters, Bam Adebayo scored 21 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, and disheveled nine assists to lead host Miami to a record victory over Portland.
It was the greatest victory margin in Heat history. In addition, Heat recorded a franchise-high 41 assists. Thomas Bryant, a substitute, added 11 rebounds and a game-high 26 points for Miami, which had a 47-point lead at one point. Jimmy Butler, who was out due to illness the night before, made a comeback and finished with eight points and eight assists in 25 minutes.
Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers, who have now lost nine games in a row, with 20 points. Of those points, 16 came from Deandre Ayton in the first half.
Timberwolves 111, Nuggets 98
Minnesota defeated Denver at home, led by 25 points from Anthony Edwards and 12 rebounds from Rudy Gobert, who helped the team tie for first place in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves, who have won four straight games despite Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence due to surgery on his left knee, are led by Mike Conley’s 23 points and Jaden McDaniels’ 17.
Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. each scored 14 points, while Nikola Jokic finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have now lost two straight games at home for the first time this season. They lost to Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota by a half-game, dropping them to third place in the West.
Mavericks 107, Kings 103
After a late 3-pointer by Dante Exum broke a tie, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 56 points to lead Dallas to victory and the completion of a two-game road sweep of Sacramento.
The Mavericks (44-29) had won 132-96 in the first game of the four-day double-header on Tuesday, and Irving led the way with 30 points and Doncic finished with a double-double with 26 points and a game-high 12 assists.
For the Kings (42-31), who began the two-game series knotted, Domantas Sabonis recorded an NBA-leading 26th triple-double with 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and a team-high 10 assists. The Kings now trail the Mavericks by two games in the Western Conference playoff race.
Clippers 100, Magic 97
With 34.1 seconds left, Kawhi Leonard made the game-winning jumper with his final points, giving Los Angeles a victory over Orlando on the road.
James Harden stole Paolo Banchero, setting up Leonard for the game-winning basket.With 5.1 seconds remaining, Paul George’s shot, which was a portion of his 12 points, effectively ended the game.
In addition to recording a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds, Banchero was also responsible for seven of Orlando’s 17 turnovers. Despite shooting just 5 of 13 from the field, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range, Franz Wagner finished with 13 points. His poor attempt at forcing overtime at the buzzer was the last of those misses.
Thunder 128, Suns 103
Josh Giddey led host Oklahoma City to victory over Phoenix with 23 points.
After missing their second straight game due to a right quad contusion, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence made it Thunder’s first victory in three games this season. Oklahoma City has maintained its lead in the Western Conference by winning six of their last eight games.
For the Suns, it was just their second defeat in six games. Kevin Durant scored 26 points on 10 of 17 shots to lead Phoenix. Devin Booker contributed 14 points, and Bradley Beal contributed 15.
Warriors 115, Hornets 97
In his homecoming, Stephen Curry scored twenty-three points to help visiting Golden State defeat the Charlotte Hornets.
In addition, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 20 and 18, respectively, for the Warriors, who are riding a three-game winning streak made up entirely of road games. Moses Moody added 15 points off the bench. In addition to his 11 points, Chris Paul had a game-high nine assists.
For the first time in over a month, Charlotte did not win back-to-back games despite the 22 points that Miles Bridges led the club with. For the Hornets, Davis Bertans scored 14 points in the opening 20 minutes before failing to score again.
Pacers 109, Lakers 90
Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Pascal Siakam scored 22 points with 11 rebounds, and Indiana showed signs of improvement on defense to stop Los Angeles’ record-setting five-game winning run.
The Pacers exacted revenge on the Lakers after losing on the road on Sunday by allowing 150 points to be scored by T.J. McConnell with 16 points and Aaron Nesmith with 12 points. The Pacers kept the Lakers to a season-low 40.7 percent shooting from the field while scoring 48.3 percent of the team’s points in the paint.
Following his absence from the Lakers’ victory against Memphis on Wednesday due to knee soreness, Anthony Davis finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. For the first time in four games, LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell, the primary Los Angeles scoring triumvirate, combined for 16 points and 10 rebounds. Russell was restricted to only six points.
Rockets 101, Jazz 100
With 22 points from Fred VanVleet and 34 points from Jalen Green—including 30 in the second half—the scorching For its eleventh straight victory, Houston overcame Utah in Salt Lake City.
With his 18 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, Amen Thompson helped the Rockets tie their longest victory streak since the latter part of the 2017–18 campaign. Houston is still one game behind the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference’s last play-in position.
The Jazz, who have lost eight straight, were led by John Collins, who finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Collin Sexton, who scored 29 points.
Also Read: LeBron James Sparks Remarkable Comeback in Lakers’ Thrilling Win
Cavaliers 117, 76ers 114
Evan Mobley added 20 points and 11 rebounds on Friday, while Georges Niang scored 25 points, as host Cleveland defeated Philadelphia for the third time in a row.
After Donovan Mitchell missed six games due to a nasal fracture, Darius Garland scored 14 points and provided 12 assists, while Jarrett Allen added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. He finished with 12 points.
Tyrese Maxey had 16 points and 11 assists, Tobias Harris added 21 points, while Kyle Lowry lead the Sixers with 23 points. Robert Covington, De’Anthony Melton, and Joel Embiid were not available for the Sixers to play. After having knee surgery on February 6, Embiid is still traveling with the team and seems to be nearing his recovery.
Nets 125, Bulls 108
After Brooklyn heated up from behind the 3-point arc in the second half, they defeated Chicago in New York with 28 points from Cam Thomas and 27 from Dennis Schroder.
With their third straight victory, the Nets tied a season high behind an offensive effort that made 18 of 24 3-pointers during a 78-point second half. The Nets defeated the Bulls in three games to complete the season with 68 3-pointers, tying a season-high with 25 treys.
Despite having the highest scoring average of 31 points from DeMar DeRozan, Chicago suffered its fourth straight loss.
Pistons 96, Wizards 87
In a match between the two NBA teams with the worst records, Detroit defeated Washington on the road behind 33 points and seven assists from Cade Cunningham.
With 20 points and 17 rebounds, Jalen Duren helped the Pistons end an eight-game losing run. The Pistons made 31 of their 65 field goals within the arc and 16 of their 20 free throw attempts from the line, but only shooting 6 of 24 from three-point range.
Deni Avdija finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in the loss for Washington, which has dropped its last two games after a three-game winning run. Corey Kispert scored 23 points.