Brunson scores 61, but Knicks edged by Wembanyama, Spurs
Rookie Victor Wembanyama scored a careerhigh 40 points and added 20 rebounds and seven assists to help host San Antonio overcome Jalen Brunson’s career-best 61 points to beat New York 130-126 in overtime on Friday.
Brunson finished one point shy of Carmelo Anthony’s franchise record of 62 points on Jan. 24, 2014, missing a 3-pointer that would have given the Knicks the lead with 5.4 seconds left in overtime.
Wembanyama hit a 3-pointer to give the
Spurs a four-point lead in overtime. He had the first 40-point, 20-rebound game by an NBA rookie since Shaquille O’neal had 46 points and 21 rebounds on Feb. 16, 1993.
Devin Vasell scored 23 points for San Antonio, who have won three straight for the first time this season. Donte Divincenzo had 20 points for New York, which had won three straight and seven of its previous eight.
■ Timberwolves 111, Nuggets 98: At
Denver, Anthony Edwards scored 25 points for Minnesota (51-23), which tied Oklahoma City atop the West and dropped Denver a half-game back. Nikola Jokic had 32 points for the Nuggets, who were without injured point guard Jamal Murray for a fourth straight game.
■ Pacers 109, Lakers 90: At Indianapolis, Pascal Siakam had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton 21 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for Indiana, which won for the fourth time in six games. Anthony Davis had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had won five in a row.
■ Heat 142, Trail Blazers 82: At Miami,
Bam Adebayo had 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for Miami, which set single-game team records with four 20-point scorers and 41 assists in its most decisive win — topping a 43-point victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 29, 1994.
■ Nets 125, Bulls 108: At New York, Dennis Schroder and Mikal Bridges each hit seven 3-pointers for Brooklyn, which tied an NBA record by making 18 second-half 3s in its third straight win. The Nets totaled 25 3s. They missed only six 3-point attempts in the second half.
■ Mavericks 107, Kings 103: At Sacramento, Calif., Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and Luka Doncic 26 for Dallas, which overcame a 15-point deficit and went ahead to stay on Dante Exum’s 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left in its sixth straight win and 10th in 11 games.
■ Cavaliers 117, 76ers 114: At Cleveland,
Evan Mobley hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left and totaled 20 points for Cleveland, which won for the second time in six games.
Kyle Lowry scored 23 points for Philadelphia in a game with 27 lead changes.
■ Thunder 128, Suns 103: At Oklahoma City, Josh Giddey scored 23 points for Oklahoma
City, which shot 56.3 percent while hitting 16 of 30 3-point tries. The Thunder were without top scorer Shai Gilgeous-alexander (30.4 ppg) because of a right thigh bruise.
■ Pistons 96, Wizards 87: At Washington, Cade Cunningham had 33 points and Jalen Duren 20 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit, which recovered after blowing a 19-point halftime lead and halted an eight-game slide.
■ Warriors 115, Hornets 97: At Charlotte, N.C., Stephen Curry scored 23 points for
Golden State, which won its third straight and prevented Charlotte from winning back-to-back games for the first time since the All-star break.
■ Rockets 101, Jazz 100: At Salt Lake City, Jalen Green scored 30 of his 34 points in the second half for Houston, who went ahead to stay with four minutes left and won its 11th straight. Utah lost its eighth in a row.
■ Clippers 100, Magic 97: At Orlando, Fla., Kawhi Leonard scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half for Los Angeles in its fourth straight road win. Orlando lost its third in a row after a five-game win streak.