Victor Wembanyama stood tall with 39 points and a crucial rebound in the final seconds as the host San Antonio Spurs held on for a 126-123 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
San Antonio snapped a five-game losing streak against Minnesota and won despite a career-high 55-point showing by the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards.
The Spurs led by 25 points at halftime after producing their highest-scoring quarter in 39 years, outscoring Minnesota 48-22 in the second. Nonetheless, Edwards’ fadeaway jumper with 3:28 to play put his team on top at 110-108. The teams then traded the lead three more times and were tied twice more before San Antiono’s Julian Champagnie went to the line with the Spurs up two and 4 seconds left.
Champagnie missed both free throws, but Wembanyama corralled the rebound and made one free throw, giving Edwards a final shot from beyond half court that missed and allowed San Antonio to win its second straight game.
Nuggets 121, Wizards 115
Jamal Murray scored seven of his game-high 42 points in the final 2:12, and Denver rallied to beat visiting Washington.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 30 points, Peyton Watson added 21 points and Aaron Gordon nearly recorded a triple-double with 11 assists, 10 rebounds and eight points for Denver. The Nuggets have won four straight and six of their last seven games.
Kyshawn George scored 29 points, Alex Sarr and Khris Middleton finished with 16 apiece, Marvin Bagely III scored 14, and Bub Carrington and Justin Champagnie contributed 13 apiece for the Wizards. Washington, which has dropped six in a row, held the lead in the fourth and the game was tied four times in the frame before Murray’s 3 with 2:12 to go gave Denver the lead for good.
Mavericks 138, Jazz 120
Another milestone for Klay Thompson and another romp for host Dallas, which downed Utah.
Thompson had 23 points in just 20 minutes and surpassed 17,000 points in his NBA career. Max Christie and Brandon Williams each scored 22 for the Mavericks, who beat the Jazz at home by a comfortable margin for the second time in three days. Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg sat out his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
Keyonte George had a game-high 29 and Brice Sensabaugh chipped in 25 off the bench for Utah, which has lost three in a row and nine of its last 11 games. Jazz leading scorer Lauri Markkanen did not play due to illness.
Pistons 121, Pacers 78
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green had 16 points apiece, and host Detroit thumped undermanned Indiana from the jump.
Jalen Duren supplied 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Pistons during their fifth victory in six games. Caris LeVert added 10 points and Marcus Sasser chipped in nine, as all 13 of their players scored.
Jarace Walker’s 13 points led the Pacers, Tony Bradley had 12 points, and Ethan Thompson and Isaiah Jackson added 10 points apiece.
Suns 106, Knicks 99
Devin Booker came back from a one-game absence to score 27 points for Phoenix, which mounted the final surge in a back-and-forth contest to defeat host New York.
Booker, who sat out Thursday’s 108-105 loss to the Detroit Pistons with a sprained left ankle, was just 7 of 18 from the field but went 12 of 14 from the foul line. The Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak, took the lead for good when Collin Gillespie hit a 3-pointer to make it 90-87 with 8:11 left in the game.
Karl-Anthony Towns (23 points, 11 rebounds) posted a double-double while Miles McBride also had 23 points for the undermanned Knicks, who have lost eight of 10. Leading scorer Jalen Brunson missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle while Josh Hart sat out with a sore right ankle.
Heat 122, Thunder 120
Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers as host Miami knocked off defending NBA champion Oklahoma City.
Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 39 points, but his Thunder had their five-game win streak snapped. Alex Caruso missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve won the game for the Thunder.
Chet Holmgren finished with a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) for the Thunder. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City’s third-leading scorer, left the game with 5:39 left in the second quarter due to an apparent right hamstring injury.
Celtics 132, Hawks 106
Jaylen Brown returned to his hometown and scored 41 points to help visiting Boston rout Atlanta.
The Celtics have won two straight and 11 of their last 15. The Hawks have lost three in a row. Brown, who had his No. 0 jersey from nearby Wheeler High School in Marietta retired on Friday night, scored 18 points in the first quarter to set the pace. Sam Hauser added a season-high 30 points. He matched his career high with 10 3-pointers.
Atlanta was led by Onyeka Okongwu with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18. Newly acquired Corey Kispert scored 16 points with seven rebounds. Jalen Johnson, the team’s leading scorer, was limited to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Warriors 136, Hornets 116
De’Anthony Melton came off the bench to produce a season-high 24 points, Draymond Green added 20 and Golden State relied on depth in the absence of Jimmy Butler III to defeat Charlotte in San Francisco.
Reserves Brandin Podziemski (16), Buddy Hield (14) and Al Horford (11) also scored in double figures for the Warriors along with starters Stephen Curry (14), Moses Moody (12) and Will Richard (11). Coming off a 32-point performance in Thursday’s home win over the New York Knicks, Butler warmed up but didn’t reappear from the locker room with the team for the start of the game. The Warriors announced his absence was due to personal reasons.
Brandon Miller had a game-high 28 points and Kon Knueppel 24 for the Hornets, who have alternated wins and losses in their first four outings on a five-game Western trip. Knueppel completed the game’s only double-double with 11 rebounds, while Collin Sexton chipped in with 17 points and LaMelo Ball 15.
Blazers 132, Lakers 116
Shaedon Sharpe scored 25 points to help host Portland roll to an easy win over Los Angeles.
Jerami Grant added 22 points and fellow reserve Caleb Love had 22 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who won for the seventh time in their past nine games. Donovan Clingan registered 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Sidy Cissoko had 14 points.
Marcus Smart scored 25 points for the Lakers, who played without NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic (left groin). Drew Timme added a career-best 21 points off the bench, and LeBron James added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers lost for the ninth time in the past 14 games.
–Field Level Media
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