The series continues: the Spurs won their 8th victory in a row in the NBA on Saturday thanks to another very good game from Victor Wembanyama to take over Portland, when the Knicks defeated Cleveland.
The Spurs machine in motion
Wemby scored 29 points in 24 minutes, with great skill (9 successful shots out of 13), to bring San Antonio against another top team in the West (125-103 victory).
The Trail Blazers did not live up to the bill and took on water against the well-drilled Spurs, who made 28 of their 30 free throws. Wembanyama, who also grabbed 7 rebounds, allowed his team to have a comfortable lead at halftime (64-49), before taking off at the end of the third quarter (109-76).
With this gap of more than 30 points, the 22-year-old Frenchman spent the entire last 12 minutes on the bench, in the shoes of a spectator.
A convincing victory which allows the Texans to settle at the top of the Western Conference, with 80% victories, the same record as the Lakers and the Oklahoma Thunder.
The Knicks as boss
The New York Knicks showed why they are defending champions: they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-97 in a remake of the last Eastern Conference final, thanks to a Jalen Brunson 31 points.
After a tight start to the match, which Cleveland attacked with confidence after its victory against the Sixers, Brunson scored 18 points in the second quarter to widen the gap, helped by Karl-Anthony Towns (29 points, 13 rebounds).
Despite Donovan Mitchell's 37 points, the Cavaliers suffered from the absence of their pivot Jarrett Allen, and experienced an ordeal in the racket, the Knicks scoring 26 of their points on offensive rebounds.
The Cavs suffered their fifth defeat of the season, and the Knicks pocketed their fifth victory.
Curry, always him
In San Francisco, Stephen Curry hasn't aged a bit at 38!
The leader of the Golden State Warriors planted 41 pawns, including 19 in the final quarter and in overtime to snatch victory against Orlando (126-119 ap). Curry scored a three-point basket followed by a free throw at the end of overtime, before making another basket to give the Warriors their 7th victory in a row.
Steph Curry signs his second game with more than 40 points this season, his 16th game with more than 40 points after turning 35, thus surpassing LeBron James.
Viva Mexico
Saturday's day in the NBA began with a match in the south of the United States, in Mexico City.
Denver beat Indiana 114-102 thanks to a double-double from boss Nikola Jokic (19 points, 13 rebounds), in a sold-out Mexico City Arena, with more than 20,000 spectators. “It was a good audience,” appreciated the Serb. “The energy was high throughout the match. I don’t know who they were cheering for, them or us, but the atmosphere was good.”
The Nuggets are in 9th place in the West, with five wins and three losses.
