Victor Wembanyama matched his season-high with 41 points and had a game-high 18 rebounds in a record-setting performance, propelling the San Antonio Spurs to a 127-113 romp over the short-handed Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie chipped in with 15 points apiece for the Spurs (58-18), who used a 10th consecutive win to move within two games of the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference standings.
Wembanyama’s 41 points came in just 29 minutes to match his season-best total from San Antonio’s previous game at home against the Chicago Bulls on Monday. Having totaled 16 rebounds in the Chicago game, Wembanyama became the first Spur to record consecutive 40-point double-doubles.
Nate Williams had 18 points, one off his career high, to lead seven players in double figures for the Warriors (36-40), who dropped 2 1/2 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers in their duel for ninth place in the West.
Celtics 147, Heat 129
Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 43 points and Jayson Tatum had a triple-double of 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists as visiting Boston beat Miami.
Sam Hauser made 5 of 7 3-point attempts and added 23 points for the Celtics, who made 21 of 44 3-point attempts (47.7%) and shot 58.3% from the floor.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 29 points and 10 rebounds, and Davion Mitchell added 21 points. Miami has lost eight of its last 10 and given up at least 121 points in each of the eight defeats.
76ers 153, Wizards 131
Paul George set a career high in a Sixers uniform with 39 points and visiting Philadelphia, playing without Joel Embiid, had an offensive outburst in a win over Washington.
George was 15 of 22 from the floor and made six 3-pointers while playing 30 minutes. Tyrese Maxey had 28 points and rookie VJ Edgecombe added 23 as the Sixers shot a season-high 61.6% from the floor, including 48.6% (17 of 35) from beyond the arc.
Anthony Gill had a team-high 21 points off the bench for the Wizards, including three treys. Will Riley scored 18 and Tristan Vukcevic added 17 as Washington shot 52.1% from the floor and 40% from deep.
Knicks 130, Grizzlies 119
New York shot a blistering 70.7% from the floor in the first half — including 81% in the opening quarter — to post a wire-to-wire victory over host Memphis and snap a three-game losing streak.
OG Anunoby scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Knicks, Mikal Bridges added 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Jalen Brunson sat out with a right ankle injury.
Memphis got 20 points from GG Jackson, 17 from Olivier-Maxence Prosper and 15 from Cedric Coward. The Grizzlies lost for the seventh time in their last eight games with an injury-depleted roster that had four players on 10-day contracts. Memphis was outrebounded 49-20.
Hawks 130, Magic 101
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 32 points and Jalen Johnson flirted with a triple-double as Atlanta crushed host Orlando.
Alexander-Walker hit 11 of 16 from the floor and 5 of 9 from 3-point range as Atlanta won its third straight and 18th of 21 since the All-Star break to consolidate fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Johnson compiled 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu added 16 points, and Dyson Daniels paired 15 points with 13 boards.
Jamal Cain scored 17 points off the bench for the Magic, who were outscored 105-73 after the first quarter while losing for the eighth time in 10 games. Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 points each. Franz Wagner contributed 12 points in his return following a 22-game absence caused by a high ankle sprain.
Nuggets 130, Jazz 117
Jamal Murray matched his career high of 10 3-pointers and scored 37 points in Salt Lake City as Denver defeated Utah for the 10th straight time.
Cameron Johnson had 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Christian Braun scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who won their seventh consecutive contest. Denver star Nikola Jokic recorded 15 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for his 196th career triple-double.
Brice Sensabaugh made six 3-pointers and scored 28 points and Kyle Filipowski added 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their seventh straight game and 19th in the past 22.
Pacers 145, Bulls 126
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and rookie Ethan Thompson chipped in a career-high 24 to lead six Indiana players in double figures as the visiting Pacers rolled past slumping Chicago.
Indiana, which posted a season-high point total, swept the four-game season series against the Bulls while winning consecutive road games for just the second time this season.
The Bulls trailed by as many as 28 en route to losing their fifth straight. Guerschon Yabusele scored 20 points for Chicago, and Matas Buzelis collected 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Rockets 119, Bucks 113
Reed Sheppard scored 27 points, Alperen Sengun added 25 and host Houston fended off injury-depleted Milwaukee to extend its winning streak to four games.
Sheppard hit a career-high nine 3-pointers while Sengun shot 9-for-13 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds. The Rockets led by 20 in the third but didn’t seal the victory until Kevin Durant (19 points, nine assists) sank two free throws with 6.3 seconds left to complete the scoring.
The Bucks were missing their top six scorers but didn’t relent. Ousmane Dieng (36 points), Cormac Ryan (25) and Pete Nance (23) all tallied career highs while Jericho Sims pulled down a career-best 20 rebounds. Dieng also posted seven rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.
Kings 123, Raptors 115
DeMar DeRozan and Precious Achiuwa each scored 28 points as Sacramento stunned the pair’s former team, host Toronto.
DeRozan scored 26 of his points in the second half to give him 26,688. That vaulted him past Dominique Wilkins into 17th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Achiuwa finished with 19 rebounds as the Kings snapped a four-game skid.
RJ Barrett and Collin Murray-Boyles each scored 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost two straight. Jakob Poeltl scored 18 points and and Scottie Barnes logged 14 points and 10 assists
–Field Level Media
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