Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs beat the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder for the third time in less than two weeks, this time on the traditional NBA Christmas Day on Thursday.
In Las Vegas on December 13 (111-109), in San Antonio on Tuesday (130-110) then in Oklahoma on Thursday (117-102), the floors change but the result remains in favor of the San Antonio Spurs, a team in progress which has become the bane of the champion, despite being intractable with the other teams. For this new shock at the top of the Western Conference, the Texans, in black, played the role of Father Fouettard, taking control in the second quarter and being up to 17 points ahead in the third.
Playing time still limited for Wemby
Symbol of the emerging rivalry between the two franchises, and of the weight gained by Wembanyama, the 21-year-old French prodigy was whistled by the public and targeted by the local defenders, who did not hold back their blows, with more or less subtlety. Still not a starter since his return from injury two weeks ago, Wemby did not leave a huge statistics sheet (19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block), but he was decisive in particular in the fourth quarter by linking up a good pass for Stephon Castle, a three-point shot and a lay-up despite a slide.
All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox was excellent for the Texans (29 points), and once again perfectly relayed by other point guards Stephon Castle (19 points, 7 assists) and Dylan Harper (12 points). Canadian MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was contained to 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, during a match where the Thunder was clumsy from afar (11 out of 44).
The Spurs, with this eighth success in a row, consolidated their second place in the Western Conference (23 wins – 7 losses), behind Oklahoma City, which has 26 wins for 5 losses, including 3 against the new Texan rival.
Exceptional triple-double for Jokic
In the evening, Nikola Jokic emerged victorious from a heavyweight fight with the Denver Nuggets against Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves, 142-138 after overtime.
The three-time Serbian MVP was exceptional with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, compared to 44 points from Edwards who snatched overtime from afar with one second to go after the Wolves had trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The Wolves even took a 9-point lead in overtime before losing to Jokic, who scored 18 points in 5 additional minutes, notably 2 out of 2 from distance. Rudy Gobert scored 9 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Redick furious
At the end of the afternoon, the Houston Rockets spoiled the party in Los Angeles by inflicting a defeat, the third in a row, on the Lakers 119-96. The collective led by Luka Doncic (25 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists) and LeBron James (18 points, 5 assists) was completely overwhelmed on defense, notably by Kevin Durant (25 points, 9 assists) and Amen Thompson (26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists). The Lakers also saw Austin Reaves leave, injured in a calf.
Coach JJ Redick blasted “a very bad basketball team”announcing a salty return to his players: “I haven’t played 53 matches like that yet”he threatened.
Earlier, the New York Knicks won 126-124 against the Cleveland Cavaliers after an intense match, during which Jalen Brunson (34 points) was able to make Madison Square Garden vibrate, facing Donovan Mitchell’s 34 points.
The French rookie Mohamed Diawara managed a good but short passage during the first quarter (5 pts in 3’40), while Guerschon Yabusele and Pacôme Dadiet did not come into play.
