Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence with 22 points and nine rebounds, giving San Antonio a surge and the Oklahoma City Thunder just their second loss with the 111-109 victory Saturday night putting the Spurs in the NBA Cup final.
The Spurs play the New York Knicks in Tuesday night’s final.
Oklahoma’s last defeat was on 5 November at Portland, and the Thunder carried a 16-game winning streak into this game. They now are 24-2, the second-best start behind only the 25-1 record by Golden State in 2015-16.
This is the Thunder’s second loss in a row in Las Vegas. They also lost last year’s final to Milwaukee 97-81.
Wembanyama, who received “M-V-P” chants from the pro-Spurs crowd, had a plus-21 rating in 21 minutes. Teammate Devin Vassell scored 23 points and De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle each scored 22.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 29 points, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each totaled 17.
Wembanyama had been out because of a strained left calf, though the Spurs went 9-3 in his absence. He was placed on a minutes restriction against the Thunder, but that didn’t limit his impact.
Wembanyama, who entered the game averaging 26.2 points and 12.9 rebounds, gave the Spurs an immediate boost and sent a surge into the crowd. Fans began to roar when he removed his sweatpants before the second quarter, and Wembanyama had a plus-20 rating in just seven minutes even with his team trailing by three points at halftime.
New York Knicks 132-120 Orlando Magic
Jalen Brunson scored 25 of his season-high 40 points in the first half, Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 points and the New York Knicks advanced to the NBA Cup final with a 132-120 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday in Las Vegas.
OG Anunoby scored 24 points and Mikal Bridges added 16 as the Knicks won their fifth consecutive game to match a season high. New York shot 60.7% from the floor while improving to 9-1 since 24 November.
Jalen Suggs scored 26 points and Paolo Banchero added 25 as the Magic lost for the first time in six NBA Cup games while getting eliminated. Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Wendell Carter Jr had 14 as Orlando lost for the third time in five games overall.
Suggs also scored 25 points in the first half while helping to pick up the offensive slack for the Magic without Franz Wagner, who has missed consecutive games with a sprained left ankle. Suggs took just one shot in the second half.
The Knicks have defeated the Magic twice in the past seven days after Orlando won the first two matchups of the season series in November.
The Knicks went on an 8-0 run to close the third quarter while turning a 92-92 tie into a 100-92 lead. The Magic failed to score over the final 2:30 of the third quarter and nearly two minutes into the fourth as New York went on an extended 10-0 run for a 102-92 advantage.
Suggs departed with 7:35 remaining while favoring his left hip and went directly to the locker room as the Knicks held a 108-98 advantage.
Brunson gave the Knicks a 121-110 lead with 2:47 remaining on a step-back jumper to reach 40 points. New York’s Josh Hart (12 points) sealed the victory on a driving layup with 1:20 left for a 125-116 lead.
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