The San Antonio Spurs blew a 16-point lead and ended up losing to Houston with a fumbled Wembanyama, while Keyonte George powered the Jazz with 43 points.
San Antonio has a problem
Twenty-four hours after a success against the Utah Jazz, the Spurs completely missed their last quarter (lost 29-14), multiplying shots from distance in vain (0 out of 13), leaving the Houston Rockets of Reed Sheppard (21 points) to come back then go in front and win 111-106.
Like his teammates, Victor Wembanyama was very clumsy, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds on 5 of 21 shooting (0 of 7 from afar).
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“Wemby” had nevertheless put on a show during the 2nd quarter, notably hitting the Swiss Clint Capela on a drive before crushing him with a dunk, then returning a “Durantesque” shot, facing the defense of Kevin Durant himself.
The Spurs took a 16-point lead, mainly thanks to Julian Champagnie (27 pts at 8 out of 16 from afar) before collapsing, without skill or ideas in attack (14 out of 50 from afar at 28%). They remain 2nd in the West (30v-14d).
Minnesota falls on George
Young American fullback Keyonte George (22 years old) shone with 43 points, his record, for a 127-122 victory for the Utah Jazz against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
George notably gave 5 points in advance 59 seconds from the siren, while Anthony Edwards (38 points) continued to return his shots to keep the Wolves in the game.
Bosnian pivot Jusuf Nurkic validated a triple-double for the Jazz with 16 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.
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Doncic decisive
Led for a good part of the match, the Los Angeles Lakers ended up winning 115 to 107 in Denver, thanks to a triple-double from Luka Doncic (38 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists).
The Slovenian was assisted by LeBron James (19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists), author of a big dunk to seal the success against the Nuggets still deprived of Nikola Jokic.
Jamal Murray (28 points, 11 assists) started very strong, notably scoring a basket at the half-time buzzer from his own half, before dropping in temperature.
Bad evening for the Warriors
After learning during the day that Jimmy Butler had suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee on Monday, the Golden State Warriors were heavily beaten at home by the Toronto Raptors 145 to 127.
Immanuel Quickley blazed for the Canadians with 20 points and 10 assists, compared to Stephen Curry’s 16 points.
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End of series for the Clippers
After six successes in a row, the Los Angeles Clippers largely lost to Coby White’s Chicago Bulls (27 pts) 138 to 100.
Without Kawhi Leonard, James Harden scored 24 points, but only shot 9 of 25.
