All the talk before the Christmas Day leadoff game was Victor Wembanyama taking Manhattan.
And the second-year sensation certainly delivered.
Wembanyama scored 42 points to come close to breaking the Christmas Day debut scoring record of 45 set by a rookie Wilt Chamberlain in 1959, but the Knicks persevered down the stretch to win 117-114 on Wednesday.
Mikal Bridges had his best game of the season, scoring 41 on 17-of-25 shooting with six 3s to power the Knicks, and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 41 points.
Wembanyama added 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for San Antonio.
The Knicks, who were 9.5-point favorites at BetMGM, improved to 20-10, while San Antonio dropped to 15-15.
Full results
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Knicks 117, Spurs 114
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Timberwolves-Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET: You never know what Anthony Edwards might say.
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76ers-Celtics, 5 p.m. ET: The champs are the champs.
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Lakers-Warriors, 8 p.m. ET: Let’s enjoy LeBron vs. Steph while we still can.
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Nuggets-Suns, 10:30 p.m. ET: Nikola Jokić is the best player on Earth, and Kevin Durant is still getting it done.
Live62 updates
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Wolves lead the Mavericks 90-68 after three quarters. Anthony Edwards with a cool, calm, and collected 20/5/5 line with two steals and stellar defense all throughout.
Might not be a bad idea to call his night early, and let the reserves handle the rest of this one.
Mavs are hitting 39% as a team, and their defense is in shambles. One of those games where you burn the game tape afterwards.
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We’re quickly approaching blow-out territory with the Wolves up 26.
This has been an unfortunate dud on the schedule, obviously not aided by the injury to Luka Dončić.
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With Dončić out, Dallas will need to find offense elsewhere than just Kyrie Irving. Dereck Lively could be an interesting candidate to go to, simply to see what the second-year center has to offer in an enhanced role.
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Luka Dončić has been ruled out for the rest of the game due to a calf strain.
The 25-year-old superstar’s night ends with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes.
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Minnesota up at the half
Wolves are going to head into the halftime with a 57-40 lead on their hands. Encouraging game from them so far. Offense has been a rough watch this season, but things have flowed well.
Randle and Edwards have combined for 11 assists, and the Wolves are 10-21 from three.
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Oh no. Luka Dončić is headed to the locker room, walking gingerly. He’s dealt with a heel contusion recently.
He couldn’t even run back on the defense. Bad news for the Mavericks, who are already down 13.
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Anthony Edwards has been phenomenal in this first half.
13 points and four assists isn’t a box score stuffer, but he’s been excellent at choosing his spots, and has moved the ball at the right time.
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We have a scuffle between Daniel Gafford and Rudy Gobert, both of whom failed to remember the real meaning of Christmas.
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The Mavericks are making questionable decisions. Offense looking less than crisp, and their defense is slipping. Seven early turnovers, and they look discombobulated when rotating on the other end.
Donte DiVincenzo has come in and cashed three triples in nine minutes off Minnesota’s bench, which has itself cooking.
Dončić leading the way for Dallas with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
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T’wolves lead after 1 quarter
Minnesota leads 26-24 after the first quarter with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle each scoring 8 points. Luka Doncic has 11 and Kyrie Irving has 8 for Dallas
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Strong start by the Wolves. Up 26-24 after the first quarter. Julius Randle took over creation duties in the final few minutes, and now sits on 8 points and 3 assists.
He and Edwards have been the heart of the offense.
On Dallas’ side, Dončić and Irving (19 points total) are leading the way. Not getting anything out of PJ Washington and Klay Thompson so far. Both have had moments of inconsistency this season.
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Washington’s positioning is off on this switch once he takes a step towards Ant on the switch, he opens up the driving lane to Ant’s left. Needed to be more squared on Ant. What a great nice drive and finish. pic.twitter.com/qoXvk1QdBF
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) December 25, 2024
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Dončić with yet another three, this time of the catch-and-shoot variety, which historically hasn’t been a strength of his.
The addition of Kyrie Irving a few years ago has been crucial in that specific development of his game.
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Everything going through Edwards right now. Wolves offense has been a bit of a mess this year. They lack a real secondary guy who can produce and create at a high level, when defenses commit to double-teams on Ant.
Will be interesting to see where they get their offense from today, outside of Edwards.
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Wide action for Luka — nothing fancy or new about the design, but noteworthy he’s starting off-ball — that flows into a PnR.
Luka does a great job of running Jaden McDaniels into the screen, leads the dance on the drive, tosses the lob w no low help (Conley attached to Klay). pic.twitter.com/1asH4uIjkA
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) December 25, 2024
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Edwards on one early. Eight points, and has assisted on all other field goals. Wolves are going to need a huge game from him.
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Dončić is dialed in. That’s two three’s and a mid-range pull-up in four minutes.
Meanwhile, Jaden McDaniels finally makes his first shots. He’s 1-5 early.
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Luka Dončić vs Anthony Edwards.
Two super productive players. Two super different approaches.
This should be a good one!
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Knicks hang on
Knicks win in a thriller!
OG Anunoby and Josh Hart with key offensive rebounds, and that’s the game.
Here’s hoping we get a similar quality game in Dallas.
