Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points as the San Antonio Spurs laid down a playoff marker with a dazzling 145-120 thrashing of the Houston Rockets on Sunday. French superstar Wembanyama was one of six Spurs players to reach double figures as San Antonio bombarded Western Conference rivals Houston with a stream of 21 three-pointers. Wembanyama dominated at both ends of the court, fleshing out his stat line with four blocks and two steals in addition to eight rebounds. The towering Frenchman was backed with 23 points from Stephon Castle and 20 points apiece from De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson.
“It was fun — teams have a hard time figuring us out,” Wembanyama told NBC Peacock after the rout. “Everybody can make shots from everywhere on the court, so we have answers for anybody. It’s all momentum. We’ve got guys playing with confidence. It’s just beautiful to see.” The win cemented San Antonio’s status as the form team of the NBA heading into the final weeks of the regular season. The Spurs are now second in the Western Conference with a 47-17 record and have won 15 of their last 16 games.
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In other games on Sunday, Luka Doncic scored 35 points as the Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off the injury absence of LeBron James to score a convincing 110-97 defeat of the in-form New York Knicks. Slovenian star Doncic rattled in five three-pointers and shot 11-of-25 from the field to help the Lakers complete a wire-to-wire victory in Los Angeles. The Lakers went into the game short-handed with James ruled out with a left elbow contusion following a heavy fall in Thursday’s defeat to Denver. But Doncic and Austin Reaves picked up the offensive slack, combining for 60 points against a potent Knicks team who have averaged 117 points per game this season.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team’s all-round effort in stifling the Knicks’ offense had created the platform for victory. “We always have three keys defensively, and three keys offensively,” Redick said. “Tonight there was one key – and that was multiple efforts. We did that throughout the game, not just in spurts. This was going to be a gritty, tough game that we had to win with effort – and we did that.” Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks scoring with 25 points, while Jalen Brunson added 24. The Lakers improved to 39-25 with the victory and are fifth in the Western Conference, 10 and a half games behind leaders Oklahoma City (50-15).
Elsewhere, Jayson Tatum continued his successful return to action following a 10-month injury layoff with 20 points in the Boston Celtics’ 109-98 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jaylen Brown led Boston’s scorers with 23 points, with five Celtics players finishing in double figures as they improved to 43-21 to remain hard on the heels of the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. “I think we did a good job,” said Tatum, who returned to the Celtics lineup on Friday after nearly 300 days on the sidelines rehabbing a ruptured right Achilles tendon. “I can’t stress enough how happy I am to be out here playing, with the team, with the guys, competing, making plays, making mistakes,” Tatum added. “Just happy to be out there.”
While Boston can now look ahead to what promises to be a blockbuster showdown with San Antonio on Tuesday, Eastern Conference leaders Detroit were left with further concerns on Sunday after falling to their fourth straight loss in a 121-110 reverse against the Miami Heat. Detroit head coach JB Bickerstaff is confident though that the Pistons will emerge from their slump. “This is the first time really this year that we’ve hit somewhat of a bump in the road, and it’s good for us,” Bickerstaff said after the defeat. “The adversity is good for us. It’s only going to bring us tighter together. This group has proven that. So, there’s just opportunity for growth, opportunities for lessons. We’ll be just fine.”
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