Rookie Victor Wembanyama posted a historic triple-double while Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee’s rout of defending NBA champion Denver and Philadelphia ended Cleveland’s nine-game winning streak.
Wembanyama achieved an incredible – and rare – feat: the first NBA triple-double to include blocked shots since Clint Capela did it in 2021.
The 20-year-old Frenchman, who recorded his first NBA triple-double last month against Detroit, made 10 of 14 shots from the floor, making 2 of 4 3-point attempts and 5 of 6 free throws while adding five assists and two steals in 29 minutes in his most dominant NBA performance to date.
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The Spurs ended a seven-game losing streak behind 2023 NBA Draft top pick “Wemby” who became the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996 with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists decisive in a match.
Greek star Antetokounmpo scored 36 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while Damian Lillard added 18 points to lead the Bucks to a 112-95 home triumph over the injured Nuggets.
The blowout came on a night when Philadelphia earned a dramatic 123-121 victory at Cleveland to stun the NBA’s hottest team while 7-foot-4 (2.24 m) French superstar Wembanyama had 27 points , 14 rebounds and an NBA season-best 10 blocked shots. shots during San Antonio’s 122-99 victory at Toronto.
He is only the fourth rookie in league history to record a triple-double including blocked shots.
Meanwhile, Serbian big man Nikola Jokic, like two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo, had 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who trailed 60-44 at halftime and lost two starters.
Denver’s Jamal Murray played just 18 minutes because of a leg injury and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played just nine with a strained right hamstring.
The Bucks improved to 35-19, 3-5 under new coach Doc Rivers while Denver fell to 36-18, losing ground in a four-team Western Conference battle.
Minnesota (36-16) will later visit the Los Angeles Clippers (35-16), with the winner taking the conference lead.
In Cleveland, Kelly Oubre and Buddy Hield each scored 24 points and Oubre blocked Donovan Mitchell’s game-tying layup attempt with one second left in the 76ers’ victory.
The Cavs (35-17) had won 17 of their previous 18 games, but were denied their first 10-game winning streak since 2017.
A 3-pointer by Oubre gave the Sixers a 120-110 lead with 1:25 left, but a 3-pointer by Darius Garland, a 3-point play by Mitchell and Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 14 seconds left lifted the Cavs to 120-119.
Simmons impresses in Brooklyn’s big win | 00:53
Ricky Council made two free throws, Mitchell responded with two and Tyrese Maxey made 1 of 2 free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining, paving the way for Oubre’s block to beat Mitchell, who scored a game-high 36 points for Cleveland.
Elsewhere, a foul called on New York’s Jalen Brunson with 0.3 seconds remaining led to a nightmarish 105-103 loss for the New York Knicks in Houston.
With the game tied, Brunson was cautioned for a foul on Aaron Holiday’s 3-point shot. Holiday, who scored 18 goals off the Rockets bench, made two game-winning free throws and missed the third to kill the last split second, condemning the Knicks to their third straight loss.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges had 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to spark the Hornets past visiting Indiana 111-102.
DeMar DeRozan and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 29 points to lead Chicago’s 136-126 victory in Atlanta while Herbert Jones had 17 points to lead a balanced New Orleans attack in a 96-87 triumph at Memphis.
