Victor Wembanyama racked up a career-high 40 points, including the game-sealing 3-pointer with 1:12 to play in overtime, as the San Antonio Spurs held off the visiting New York Knicks 130-126 on Friday.
Wembanyama also had 20 rebounds (tying his career best) and seven assists, and the Spurs needed all of it to outlast the effort of New York’s Jalen Brunson, who poured in a career-high 61 points.
With 24 seconds left, San Antonio tied it with a pair of free throws by Wembanyama to send the game to overtime. Tre Jones hit a floater with 3:35 left before Wembanyama stoked the Spurs’ advantage to 125-121 with 2:56 left. Brunson’s layup cut the margin to one point before Wembanyama canned a 3-pointer to make it 128-124 with 1:12 to go.
Mitchell Robinson’s putback culled New York’s deficit to two points, but Brunson’s 3-point attempt with five seconds left missed, and the Knicks threw away the rebound. Brunson missed the Knicks’ record for single-game scoring by one point, as Carmelo Anthony had a 62-point game on Jan. 25, 2014, against the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
Heat 142, Trail Blazers 82
Bam Adebayo posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in just three quarters to lead host Miami to an historic win over Portland.
It was the largest margin of victory in Heat history. The Heat also dished out a franchise-record 41 assists. Miami, which led by as many as 47 points, also got a game-high 26 points along with 11 rebounds from reserve Thomas Bryant. Jimmy Butler, who missed the previous game due to illness, returned and provided eight points and eight assists in 25 minutes.
The Trail Blazers, who have lost nine straight, were led by Scoot Henderson, who scored 20 points. Deandre Ayton added 18 points, including 16 in the first half.
Timberwolves 111, Nuggets 98
Anthony Edwards had 25 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota beat host Denver to move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference.
Mike Conley scored 23 points and Jaden McDaniels 17 for the Timberwolves, who have won four in a row despite Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence after surgery on his left knee.
Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 each for the Nuggets, who have lost two in a row at home for the first time this season. They fell to third in the West, a half-game behind Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mavericks 107, Kings 103
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 56 points, Dante Exum broke a late tie with a 3-pointer and Dallas completed a two-game road sweep of Sacramento with a victory.
Irving led the way with 30 points and Doncic completed a double-double with 26 points and a game-high 12 assists for the Mavericks (44-29), who had won 132-96 in the opener of the four-day double-header on Tuesday.
Domantas Sabonis recorded an NBA-leading 26th triple-double with 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a team-high 10 assists for the Kings (42-31), who fell two games behind the Mavericks in the Western Conference playoff race after having started the two-game set tied.
Clippers 100 Magic 97
Kawhi Leonard scored the last of his game-high 29 points on a go-ahead jumper with 34.1 seconds remaining and Los Angeles escaped with a road win over Orlando.
Leonard’s basket, which proved to be the game-winner, came off a James Harden steal of Paolo Banchero.That led to a Paul George basket, part of his 12 points, effectively putting the game away with 5.1 seconds to play.
Banchero scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds but committed seven of Orlando’s 17 total turnovers. Franz Wagner finished with 13 points but shot just 5 of 13 from the floor, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range. The last of those misses was when his overtime-forcing effort at the buzzer was no good.
Thunder 128, Suns 103
Josh Giddey scored 23 points to lift host Oklahoma City to a win over Phoenix.
It was the Thunder’s first win in three games this season without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed his second consecutive game with a right quad contusion. Oklahoma City has won six of its past eight and kept pace near the top of the Western Conference.
It was just the second loss in six games for the Suns. Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Bradley Beal chipped in with 15 points and Devin Booker added 14.
Warriors 115, Hornets 97
Stephen Curry scored 23 points in a return to his hometown as visiting Golden State beat Charlotte Hornets.
The Warriors, who have a three-game winning streak made up exclusively of road games, also received 20 points from Andrew Wiggins and 18 from Trayce Jackson-Davis, while Moses Moody added 15 off the bench. Chris Paul contributed 11 points and a game-high nine assists.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 22 points, though that wasn’t enough to give the team consecutive victories for the first time in more than a month. Davis Bertans had 14 points in the first 20 minutes for the Hornets, but he didn’t score again.
Pacers 109, Lakers 90
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points with 11 rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points with eight rebounds and eight assists and Indiana flashed some improved defense while earning a victory to end Los Angeles’ season-best five-game winning streak.
T.J McConnell scored 16 points and Aaron Nesmith added 12 as the Pacers exacted revenge after giving up 150 points to the Lakers in a road loss Sunday. The Pacers held the Lakers to a season low in points on 40.7 percent shooting from the floor, while shooting 48.3 percent on their offensive end.
Anthony Davis scored 24 points with 15 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday’s victory at Memphis to rest knee discomfort. LeBron James scored 16 points with 10 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell was held to six points as the main Los Angeles scoring trio played together for the first time in four games.
Rockets 101, Jazz 100
Jalen Green scored 34 points, including 30 in the second half, and Fred VanVleet added 22 as red-hot Houston defeated Utah in Salt Lake City for its 11th consecutive victory.
Amen Thompson contributed 18 points, 14 rebounds and five assists to help the Rockets match their longest winning streak since late in the 2017-18 season. Houston remains a game behind the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
John Collins contributed 30 points and 11 rebounds and Collin Sexton had 29 points for the Jazz, who lost their eighth straight.
Cavaliers 117, 76ers 114
Georges Niang scored 25 points and Evan Mobley added 20 points and 11 rebounds on Friday as host Cleveland dealt Philadelphia its third straight loss.
Darius Garland had 14 points and 12 assists, and Jarrett Allen contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds for The Cavaliers, who welcomed back Donovan Mitchell after a six-game absence due to a nasal fracture. He scored 12 points.
Kyle Lowry led the Sixers with 23 points, Tobias Harris added 21 and Tyrese Maxey had 16 points and 11 assists. The Sixers played without Joel Embiid, De’Anthony Melton and Robert Covington. Embiid is now traveling with the team and appears to be close to returning from knee surgery on Feb. 6.
Nets 125, Bulls 108
Cam Thomas scored 28 points and Dennis Schroder added 27 as Brooklyn heated up from behind the 3-point arc in the second half and earned a victory over Chicago in New York.
The Nets tied a season-high with their third straight win thanks to an offense that made 18 of 24 3-point attempts in a 78-point second half. The Nets tied a season-high with 25 treys and finished with 68 3-pointers while completing a three-game season sweep of the Bulls.
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 31 points but Chicago lost for the fourth time in five games.
Pistons 96, Wizards 87
Cade Cunningham had 33 points and seven assists to lead Detroit to a road win over Washington in a game between teams with the two worst records in the NBA.
Jalen Duren had 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons, who snapped an eight-game losing streak. The Pistons shot just 6 of 24 from 3-point range but made 31 of their 65 field goals inside the arc and hit 16 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Corey Kispert scored 23 points and Deni Avdija had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in defeat for Washington, which has lost two straight following a three-game winning streak.
–Field Level Media
