San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama delivered a spectacular performance Wednesday night, scoring 41 points and grabbing 18 rebounds to power the Spurs to a dominant 127-113 victory over the undermanned Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The stellar showing helped San Antonio (58-18) secure their 10th straight victory, pulling them within just two games of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the Western Conference. Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie each contributed 15 points to support Wembanyama’s offensive explosion.
Wembanyama’s 41-point outburst came in only 29 minutes of action, equaling his season-best mark from San Antonio’s previous contest against Chicago on Monday. After collecting 16 rebounds in that Bulls game, Wembanyama made franchise history by becoming the first Spurs player ever to post back-to-back games with 40 points and double-digit rebounds.
For Golden State (36-40), Nate Williams paced seven players reaching double figures with 18 points, just one shy of his career best. The loss dropped the Warriors 2.5 games behind Portland in the battle for ninth place in the Western Conference.
In other NBA action, Jaylen Brown exploded for 43 points while Jayson Tatum recorded a triple-double with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists as Boston demolished Miami 147-129. Sam Hauser connected on five three-pointers and added 23 points for the Celtics, who shot an impressive 58.3% from the field.
Bam Adebayo topped Miami with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Davion Mitchell chipped in 21 points. The Heat have now dropped eight of their last 10 contests, surrendering at least 121 points in each of those eight defeats.
Paul George established a new high as a Philadelphia player with 39 points, leading the 76ers to a 153-131 rout of Washington despite playing without Joel Embiid. George shot 15-of-22 from the floor and knocked down six three-pointers in 30 minutes of work. Tyrese Maxey contributed 28 points and rookie VJ Edgecombe added 23 as Philadelphia shot a season-best 61.6% from the field.
Anthony Gill paced Washington with 21 points off the bench, including three long-range shots. Will Riley scored 18 and Tristan Vukcevic contributed 17 for the Wizards.
New York snapped a three-game slide with a 130-119 wire-to-wire victory over Memphis, shooting an incredible 70.7% from the floor in the first half. OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 25 points, scoring 17 in the final quarter, while Mikal Bridges added 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, with Jalen Brunson sidelined due to a right ankle injury.
Memphis received 20 points from GG Jackson, 17 from Olivier-Maxence Prosper and 15 from Cedric Coward. The injury-ravaged Grizzlies, who had four players on 10-day contracts, have now lost seven of their last eight games and were dominated on the boards 49-20.
Atlanta crushed Orlando 130-101 behind Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 32 points and a near triple-double from Jalen Johnson. Alexander-Walker shot 11-of-16 overall and 5-of-9 from three-point range as the Hawks captured their third consecutive victory and 18th win in 21 games since the All-Star break. Johnson finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Jamal Cain led Orlando with 17 points off the bench, while the Magic were outscored 105-73 after the opening quarter. Franz Wagner returned from a 22-game absence due to a high ankle sprain and scored 12 points.
In Salt Lake City, Jamal Murray tied his career record with 10 three-pointers and scored 37 points as Denver defeated Utah 130-117 for their 10th consecutive victory over the Jazz. Nikola Jokic posted his 196th career triple-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, while Cameron Johnson added 19 points for the Nuggets’ seventh straight win.
Brice Sensabaugh made six three-pointers and scored 28 points for Utah, with Kyle Filipowski contributing 25 points and 12 rebounds. The Jazz extended their losing streak to seven games and have now lost 19 of their past 22 contests.
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and rookie Ethan Thompson posted a career-high 24 as Indiana rolled past Chicago 145-126, setting a season-high point total. The Pacers completed a four-game season series sweep of the Bulls while winning back-to-back road games for only the second time this season.
Chicago trailed by as many as 28 points en route to their fifth straight defeat. Guerschon Yabusele led the Bulls with 20 points, while Matas Buzelis recorded 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Reed Sheppard scored 27 points and Alperen Sengun added 25 as Houston held off injury-riddled Milwaukee 119-113 to extend their winning streak to four games. Sheppard connected on a career-high nine three-pointers while Sengun shot 9-for-13 and pulled down nine rebounds.
Despite missing their top six scorers, Milwaukee fought back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit. Ousmane Dieng set career highs with 36 points and 10 assists while adding seven rebounds, Cormac Ryan scored a career-best 25 points, and Pete Nance added 23. Jericho Sims grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds for the Bucks.
DeMar DeRozan and Precious Achiuwa each scored 28 points as Sacramento upset their former team Toronto 123-115. DeRozan tallied 26 of his points in the second half to reach 26,688 career points, passing Dominique Wilkins for 17th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Achiuwa grabbed 19 rebounds as the Kings ended a four-game losing streak.
RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles each scored 20 points for Toronto, which has lost two in a row. Jakob Poeltl contributed 18 points while Scottie Barnes recorded 14 points and 10 assists.
