Wembanyama’s Return: Spurs Fall Despite Dominant Performance

The match: Wembanyama’s return ends in defeat

The Spurs have been at a standstill since their three-game winning streak against the Thunder. In any case, they are no longer as dominant. The Texan franchise is still second in the West but it is losing ground by accumulating defeats here and there, including the latest against the Grizzlies (106-105) on Tuesday evening. A match during which Victor Wembanyama returned to the competition after two matches of absence. The Frenchman managed to convince his management to restart him a week after his knee hyperextension. But on the condition of coming off the bench again with limited playing time.

He was therefore entitled to 21 minutes. Enough for him to score 30 points while taking 20 shots (10 out of 20, 3 out of 6 behind the arc). However, the Spurs still lost against an opponent who remained on 4 defeats in a row, despite being 11 points ahead at the start of the second period. Memphis attacked the third quarter with a 20-7 run to take the lead. Jaren Jackson Jr (21 pts, 9 rebounds) and his teammates held on for long minutes, until an express pass from Wembanyama in the third quarter. The superstar only played 3 minutes in money time and she didn’t finish the game. But the score went from 97-91 to 97-98 in favor of San Antonio during this short interval, with three baskets from the giant. His exit just over 3 minutes from the siren buried the Spurs.

Cam Spencer (21 pts, 8 rebounds, 8 feet) scored the last 5 points for his team, including the shot for the win 37 seconds from the buzzer. Santi Aldama blocked the final attempt of a very uninspired De’Aaron Fox (9 pts at 4 out of 18) last night.

The player: LeBron, 30 points at 41 years old

Third victory in a row for the Lakers, winners of the Pelicans in New Orleans (103-111). We still had to wait until the fourth quarter to see the Angelenos, trailing, come back and break away with an 18-4 lead. A wild run driven by two very distant baskets from LeBron James. The 41-year-old veteran is in great shape and delivered an exemplary performance by posting 30 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Statistics worthy of previous versions of the King, definitely still impactful. Luka Doncic, for his part, finished with 30 points and 10 assists.

Performance: Gobert takes care of his candidacy for the DPOY

With the potential ineligibility of Victor Wembanyama who is not certain of reaching 65 matches played this season, Rudy Gobert therefore becomes a serious contender for a new DPOY trophy. The Wolves’ entire defense is built around him and his ability to protect the rim. Minnesota is also a team that works very well, as evidenced by the large victory against Miami (122-94) and its record since the start of the season (24-13). Gobert contributed to this success by helping to stifle the Heat, one of the best attacks in the league, and by containing Bam Adebayo, limited to 7 points on 3 of 11 shooting. The Frenchman scored 13 points without missing (5 out of 5) while adding 16 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The series: Sad franchise record for Indiana with 13 straight losses

Finalists last June, the Pacers are sinking and have the worst NBA record after almost half of the regular season. Indiana is at 6-31 and has therefore just lost for the thirteenth time in a row by losing to Cleveland (116-120). The men of Rick Carlisle, coach who is only one victory away from his 1000th success on a bench but who has been patient for weeks, nevertheless had the match in hand before suffering the return of the Cavaliers. Darius Garland scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, clearly to the advantage of his team (23-36), to lead his team to victory. Deprived of Tyrese Haliburton this season, the Pacers are on track to draw very high in the next draft.

The French: Sarr and Coulibaly impactful

The Wizards have an unexpected resurgence of competitiveness. They are obviously not really in the race for the playoffs or even the play-in but the franchise from the federal capital remains on 5 victories during its last 7 outings after starting the season with 20 defeats in 23 matches (including 14 in a row). Washington beat Orlando last night (120-112) relying precisely on the good performances of its French players. Alex Sarr bounced back well after suffering against Rudy Gobert in the previous match. The pivot made up for it by scoring 23 points in addition to his 7 rebounds and 5 blocks. Bilal Coulibaly was not to be outdone with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

CJ McCollum allowed the Wizards to avoid disappointment. His team squandered a 26-point lead almost in its entirety and it took a few decisive baskets from the veteran (27 units) at the end of the game. Noah Penda compiled 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals for Orlando, which has not won two games in a row since Franz Wagner’s injury.

All scores

Pacers – Cavaliers : 116-120
Wizards – Magic : 120-112
Grizzlies – Spurs : 106-105
Timberwolves – Heat : 122-94
Pelicans – Lakers : 103-111