Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Victor Wembanyama powered the relentless San Antonio Spurs to a 10th straight win Wednesday with his second consecutive 41-point game, brushing aside the Golden State Warriors 127-113. Two days after the French star scored the fastest double-double in NBA history, Wembanyama also grabbed 18 rebounds in a wire-to-wire victory. San Antonio has emerged as genuine NBA title contenders in the second half of the season, winning 26 of their past 28 games. They sit second in the Western Conference, just two wins behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, with six regular-season games remaining in the battle for top seed. The two Western giants are the favorites to win this year’s NBA championship, with the playoffs beginning in mid-April.
While the Thunder are the reigning NBA champions, the Spurs have not reached the playoffs since 2019. Wembanyama laughed off the suggestion that a lack of experience would hurt them this spring. “We don’t have experience, right? Screw it,” he told ESPN. “We’re not going to play any different way just because… it is this way. We’re still going to play 100 percent to try to win this championship.”
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The Spurs led throughout Wednesday’s game in San Francisco, taking a commanding 70-49 half-time lead as Wemby managed a stunning 27 points and 13 rebounds in a first-half double-double. San Antonio eased off slightly in the second half but never lost their double-digit lead against a Warriors side lacking key players, including Stephen Curry. Superstar Curry has not played since January but was seen on court pre-game Wednesday, raising hopes he can return as the Warriors face the long route to the playoffs via the play-ins.
– Playoff race hots up –
The Boston Celtics tightened their grip on second seed in the East and put a little pressure on the conference-leading Detroit Pistons with a breezy 147-129 win over playoff hopefuls Miami Heat. The Celtics got off to a blistering start, scoring 53 points in the first quarter—the joint second-most in NBA history—as star duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum dominated the night. Brown scored a whopping 43 points in total while Tatum ended with a triple-double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists).
The Celtics have been revitalized since Tatum’s return from a 10-month Achilles injury last month, and having the pair together on the court appears to pose a formidable post-season threat. “Obviously a hell of a two-way player… he had a hot start, and he just kept it going,” Tatum said of Brown after the game.
With the loss, Miami sank to 10th but remained just 2.5 games back from sixth and a guaranteed post-season spot in the remarkably tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The door had been left ajar as the sixth-placed Toronto Raptors fell 123-115 to the Sacramento Kings. They were leapfrogged by the Philadelphia 76ers, who eased past the Washington Wizards 153-131, with Paul George pouring in 39 points.
But the Orlando Magic saw their playoff hopes dented by the red-hot Atlanta Hawks, who secured a 17th win in 19 games with a 130-101 victory that shores up their own berth. The third-placed New York Knicks got back to winning ways with a 130-119 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. And back in the West, the Houston Rockets all but assured themselves of playoff basketball as they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-113 to sit five wins clear of the Phoenix Suns, who have six remaining games.
© 2024 AFP
