Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson both hit career-high points scores as the San Antonio Spurs needed overtime to edge past the New York Knicks 130-126 at Frost Bank Center. Wembanyama delivered 40 points and was outscored by Brunson, the point guard, who hit 61. But ultimately it was Brunson who missed a vital three-pointer in the final seconds of overtime that would have stolen it for his side.
Victor Wembanyana’s career-high 40 points propelled the San Antonio Spurs to a crucial 130-126 overtime victory over the New York Knicks at Frost Bank Center.
The youngster notched 20 rebounds and seven assists, with the Frenchman netting a vital three-pointer to give the Spurs a four-point lead in overtime, which wrote him further into NBA history, as he became the first rookie to tally a 40-point and 20-rebound game since Shaquille O’Neal back in 1993.
The no. 1 draft pick scored his 39th double-double in just 65 NBA games, and it was Wembanyama’s individual brilliance that outdid the stellar work of the game’s top-scorer Jalen Brunson, the Knicks point guard, who also brought up a career-high 61 points.
“I’ve never seen so much greatness before,” Wembanyama said afterwards. “The season has been going on for just some months. I’ve just witnessed so much greatness and I want to be a part of it.
“I always wanted to, but more and more seeing that I’m already able to compete with those guys. I’m not near, but I’m on the right path. I know it and I’m going to get there soon.”
Speaking about Wembanyama’s performance after the match, Brunson said: “He’s going to be one of the greatest players this game has seen.
“Just the way he’s built. What he’s been able to do so far. I have a lot of respect for him.”
However, for all his good work, Brunson missed a three-point opportunity with just 5.4 seconds of overtime period remaining, which would have seen the visiting side retake the lead, and also would have broken the Knicks’ franchise record of points in a singular game – which Carmelo Anthony’s 62 back in 2014 still holds.
Devin Vasell added 23 points for the home side, while Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks guard, tallied 20, setting his side’s single-season record three-pointers with 245.
“[Brunson] is special,” DiVincenzo said of his team-mate. “I think he’s an All-NBA talent. Even if we didn’t come away with the win tonight, I think what he did tonight showed you that he’s one of the best guards in the East.
“Every single night, whatever it takes to win, he does that. Tonight, it was almost.”
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their fine form at the top of the Western Conference as Anthony Edwards’ 25 and Mike Conley’s 23 helped Glen Taylor’s side to a comprehensive 111-98 dismantling of Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.
Jokic was badly off his game, missing 11 of his first 17 shots, although Denver coach Michael Malone revealed afterwards that the Serbian centre was struggling with a wrist problem.
Jokic, however, played through the pain and poor start to end the encounter with 32 points.
The Houston Rockets edged the Utah Jazz by a sole point in Salt Lake City as Jalen Green notched 30 to give the visitors an 11th consecutive victory.
Fred VanVleet, the Rockets point guard, who finished the game with 22 points, admitted afterwards that Green had been “carrying us pretty much since the All-Star break”.
Dante Exum hit the winning three-pointer inside the final five seconds as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 107-103 for their sixth straight win, while the Miami Heat thrashed the Portland Trail Blazers 142-82 as Thomas Bryant stepped off the bench to play a starring role, notching 26 points, 12 rebounds, and one assist.
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