Frenchman Victor Wimbanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to overturn a 22-point deficit to defeat the host Chicago Bulls 124-119, on Wednesday, achieving their tenth consecutive victory in the American Basketball League (NBA), and continuing to put pressure on the Los Angeles Lakers, who are leaders in the league.
The Lakers improved their best record in the league to 11-2, ahead of the Spurs (10-2) at the top of the Western Conference, by defeating the Bucks 123-112 in Milwaukee.
Slovenian Luka Doncic scored 32 points, but left limping late in the final quarter after spraining his right ankle.
As for Chicago, Wembanyama scored 32 points and led seven Spurs players to score in double figures.
But San Antonio had to come back from a 22-point deficit in the first half against the lowly Bulls, who lost for the eighth time in a row.
Chicago's 41 points in the first quarter were the most the Spurs have received in an opening period this season.
The Bulls limited Wembanyama's influence at first, but he was unable to continue. He finished the match with high shooting accuracy (13 out of 18) with nine rebounds, two steals and five blocks, and Spurs erased a 14-point deficit at the break in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
The Lakers led most of the game in Milwaukee; Where he also faced a faltering team.
“(It) could have easily been a trap game for us,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
He added: “I appreciate the way we dealt with the first half, and then building that lead in the third quarter and during the early part of the last quarter was excellent.”
Redick said he believed Doncic's injury was "just a mild sprain."
His teammate, Austin Reeves, will need additional tests due to an injury to his left heel that he suffered in the third quarter when he landed incorrectly.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by James Harden (32 points) and Donovan Mitchell (23 points), defeated the defending champion New York Knicks 115-107 at Madison Square Garden.
The Cavaliers started strong and led by 12 points in the first quarter before holding on to win. The Knicks tied the score four times in the second half, but never took the lead.
Peyton Watson's fourth save, 33.7 seconds before the end, led to a crushing basket from Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, raising the difference to seven points and practically sealing the victory.
Boston player Jason Tatum scored two free throws for the lead with 25.2 seconds left, while the Celtics came back to defeat the Raptors 98-93 in Toronto.
Boston trailed by 22 points, but raised its defensive level in the second half to achieve its fifth win in a row, one night after an emotional victory over former Celtics player Jaylen Brown and the Sixers in Philadelphia.
Tatum said: “A trip of four away matches is difficult. Especially two games in a row, and we were late arriving last night.”
"It was ugly, but I'll take it," added Tatum, who led the way with 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Derrick White scored 19 points for the Celtics, the leaders in the Eastern Conference, and Payton Pritchard scored 14 points.
Son Heung-min and four other South Korean players said Thursday that they had overcome their differences, after reports of sharp internal divisions at the heart of the soccer team.
South Korean football has been floundering since its very disappointing exit from the group stage in the 2026 World Cup, after which unpopular coach Hong Myung-bo resigned.
Following this, reports appeared in local media about a split involving leader Son (34 years old) and some other players, including Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae.
Son and Kim, along with Lee Jae-sung, Hwang In-bum and Hwang Hee-chan, issued a joint statement to the fans apologizing and saying it was time to turn the page after they held talks.
The statement said: “First and foremost, we would like to sincerely apologize to the Korean public and football fans for the concern caused by recent reports related to the national team,” and added: “At our last meeting, we gathered to share our thoughts about the national team openly and honestly.”
He continued: “By listening directly to each other and discussing matters that we did not have sufficient opportunities to address, we were able to better understand each other’s positions.”
They said that in their conversations they discussed what went wrong at the World Cup, admitting that they were still hurting from the experience.
They continued: “Our discussions began with a question about what needs to be changed to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes,” and they added: “We now intend to leave the unnecessary controversy behind us and focus on building a stronger national team together.”
Spanish coach Robert Moreno took over temporarily as Hong's successor, and it is believed that his contract will expire this month.
South Korea will play against Saudi Arabia in Qatar on Friday, then another friendly match against Qatar four days later.
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina came back from a set down against Czech Karolina Muchova, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday, strengthening her hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the final tournament of the Women's Tennis Association, held in Indian Wells.
Svitolina previously won the final tournament title in 2018, but she missed participating in the event that brings together the season’s elite players since 2019.
Svitolina started the confrontation in a faltering manner against Muchova, who succeeded in breaking her opponent's serve three times during the first set, deciding it in her favor with a score of 6-3.
But the Ukrainian player regained her balance in the second set, and after falling behind 1-2 with both players holding serve, she won five consecutive games to settle the set 6-2, forcing a third set, in which she prevailed with the same result.
Svitolina said after the match: “I was not happy with my performance in the first set. “I did not play at the desired level, but I made some tactical adjustments.”
She added: “I tried to be bolder in my shots, because I was playing according to her style.” She has an amazing versatility in her strokes, whether it's the cut or the serve and the drive towards the net. “I had to get away from that and try to get shorter balls early in the exchange.”
She continued: “I think that helped me be more offensive, because I was very negative in the first set.”
Svitolina explained that she succeeded in exploiting the state of anger that has plagued her since her loss in her opening match in the group stage.
With this victory, Svitolina inflicted the second loss on Mukhova in the group stage, raising her score to one victory versus a loss, preserving her chance to compete for a ticket to qualify for the semi-finals.
