Young prodigy Victor Wembanyama aggravates his right ankle injury and is sidelined as a precaution, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics continue to dominate their respective conferences, the Detroit Pistons equal a sad losing record and the Memphis Grizzlies benefit from Ja Morant’s return from suspension: here’s the rundown of Saturday night’s NBA action.
“Wemby” forfeits
During warm-up before the San Antonio Spurs’ 144-119 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama aggravated the pain in his right ankle by tripping over the foot of a Mavs ball boy.
Returning in frustration to the locker room, where his ankle was bandaged, the French giant (2.24m) returned to the floor with the intention of playing, but the Spurs announced that he would not play in the game.
“Maybe he could have played, he probably could have played. If it had been a play-off game, I probably would have played him,” said coach Gregg Popovich in a post-game press conference, signaling that the forfeit was primarily a precaution taken to protect his young star.
This is only the third game “Wemby” has missed this season, following Tuesday’s game against the Bucks with a sore ankle and December 1 against the Pelicans with a sore right hip.
Minnesota and Boston on top
The Timberwolves and Celtics, who share the best record in the league (22 wins, 6 losses), both confirmed their first-place conference finish.
Frenchman Rudy Gobert scored a double-double (21 pts, 17 rbds) to help the Timberwolves beat the Sacramento Kings (98-110).
The Celtics, with Jayson Tatum (30 pts) and Jaylen Brown (24 pts), ended the Clippers’ six-game winning streak at home (145-108).
26 straight losses: record equalled for the Pistons
Beaten by the Brooklyn Nets (126-115), the Detroit Pistons equaled the sad record for consecutive defeats in a single season, with 26, tied with Cleveland (2010-11) and Philadelphia (2013-14). The Sixers did worse in 2015, with 28 straight losses, but over two seasons.
LeBron James, immortal
The Lakers, who were on a four-game losing streak, relied on a great LeBron James to beat the Thunder (120-129).
The superstar scored 40 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 7 assists in a game that saw the Lakers reshuffle their starting five, with D’Angelo Russell starting on the bench.
Bucks dominate Knicks
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to victory over the New York Knicks (130-111), extending their NBA winning streak to seven games.
Memphis: Ja Morant as savior
The Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the Hawks 125-119 in Atlanta, remain unbeaten after three games and Ja Morant’s return from a 25-game suspension.
Desmond Bane scored 37 points and Morant added 30 points and 11 assists for the Grizzlies, who withstood a double-double of 30 points and 13 assists from Trae Young.
It was Young’s seventh consecutive game with at least 30 points and 10 assists, tying Oscar Robertson for the longest such streak.
