NBA: 10th victory in a row for Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs

On a good start. San Antonio's victory was not obvious on Wednesday against the surprising Chicago Bulls, but Victor Wembanyama's gang ended up grabbing their 10th success in a row in the NBA, when Cleveland beat the Knicks.

Spurs comeback

The French giant played his role as captain (32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks), to defeat the valiant Bulls 124-119 in a two-sided match. It was a Chicago with only one victory on the clock this season which began by setting the tone, with an insolent success in the first quarter: 85.7%, or 18 successful baskets out of 21 attempts.

Aggressive and diligent, the Bulls, very present in the racket, had their best first period of the year, against the recent finalists. They returned to the locker room with a score of 70-56, after being up to 22 points ahead. “We didn't manage to stop them, we let them get into rhythm. Then it was a completely different match in the second half, we returned to normal,” said Victor Wembanyama after the victory.

Wemby's presence on the floor made all the difference for the Spurs: when he was on the court, San Antonio scored 29 more points than its opponent. And this mainly in the second act, which the Spurs started with a bang against the Bulls who were struggling to keep up the pace.

San Antonio pulled it together (73-73), then ensured success thanks to a valuable Wemby at the end of the match, with a great counter followed by a basket behind the arc, helped by a very good Dylan Harper (18 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists). With this 10th consecutive victory after two initial defeats, San Antonio is second in the Western Conference, behind the Lakers.

Cleveland beats the champions

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed their muscles against the defending champions, the New York Knicks (115-107). The team of bearded James Harden (32 pts) and Donovan Mitchell (23 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), helped by Jarrett Allen (11 pts, 14 rebounds), mastered the franchise led by Jalen Brunson (27 pts) at Madison Square Garden.

Cleveland thus brings its record to balance (6 wins for 6 losses), and settles just behind the Knicks in the Eastern Conference (6 wins for 5 losses).

Los Angeles, eternal sunshine

The Lakers brought good weather to Los Angeles in their suitcases: bright sunshine, 32°C, like the number of points scored by star Luka Doncic to blind Milwaukee 123-112.

The Bucks tried to come back, winning the final quarter 39-29, but the damage was done thanks in particular to the depth of the Lakers bench, with Sandro Mamukelashvili at 23 points. Milwaukee, located on the banks of Lake Michigan, sinks into the winter gray, with one victory for 11 defeats this season.

Cissoko wins, tough evening for the other French people

Portland offered itself a prestigious victory on Wednesday against the 2025 champion, Oklahoma (118-108). In the starting 5, Frenchman Sidy Cissoko had a full match (19 points) to bring down the team of double MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points). In a long-close match, Washington failed against Indiana, who finished strong to win 114-101.

The two Wizards tricolors played 25 minutes: Alex Sarr scored 5 points (2/6 shooting) and took 8 rebounds, and Bilal Coulibaly was limited to 5 points, with 6 rebounds. Ousmane Dieng scored 9 points and delivered 4 assists with the Bucks against the Lakers, Noa Essengue scored 8 points, including two dunks at the end of the match, and 4 rebounds against the Wemby Spurs. As for Mohamed Diawara, he played 11 minutes for 2 points during the Knicks' defeat against Cleveland.