Victor Wembanyama shines late as San Antonio Spurs down Boston Celtics in NBA
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Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh tries to stop San Antonio forward Victor Wembanyama during the Spurs' 100-95 win on Jan 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Victor Wembanyama stepped it up in the second half on Jan 10, drilling a go-ahead jump shot with 1min 33sec to play and adding the final dagger in the San Antonio Spurs’ 100-95 National Basketball Association (NBA) victory over the Boston Celtics.
The French star, who again came off the bench as the Spurs ease him back into action in the wake of a knee injury, scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half.
“My mindset was just, I have to close out the game,” Wembanyama said of his pivotal jumpers, including the shot 19.2sec from time for a four-point lead.
“It felt like they were playing better basketball than us, but we stayed in there,” he said, after also grabbing six rebounds and blocked three shots.
De’Aaron Fox also scored 21 points for San Antonio and Keldon Johnson added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs kicked off a three-game road trip with victory in the clash of East and West second-placed teams.
Derrick White scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Boston.
In Detroit, the Los Angeles Clippers erased a double-digit deficit to hand Eastern Conference leaders Pistons a 98-92 defeat.
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and John Collins added 25 for the Clippers, who trailed by as many as 19 in the first half and were down 14 early in the fourth quarter.
Collins made a pair of free throws to give the Clippers a 93-92 lead with two minutes remaining and James Harden fed Ivica Zubac for a dunk and the Clippers held on for the win.
They outscored the Pistons 30-16 in the fourth quarter, Detroit coughing up 11 of their 24 turnovers in the final frame.
Duncan Robinson scored 20 points to lead the Pistons, who were without key contributors Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris as well as the ailing Isaiah Stewart.
Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and passed off eight assists to spark the Cleveland Cavaliers over Minnesota Timberwolves 146-134.
Two nights after losing at Minnesota, the Cavs also had 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting from Evan Mobley and 23 points off the bench from Jaylon Tyson.
“They got up 12 and we responded, did what we had to do and got the win,” Mitchell said, noting the improvements from Nov 8’s 131-122 loss.
“We made adjustments,” he said. “We locked in, dialled in and did a good job. We kept our foot on the gas, they made some runs, and we continued like always.”
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 25 points while Julius Randle had 20 and reserve Naz Reid contributed 25, hitting five of six three-point attempts.
In Indianapolis, Andrew Nembhard scored 29 points to lead the Pacers to a 123-99 blowout win over the Miami Heat.
The lowly Pacers (8-31), last season’s NBA finalists, never trailed and won a second straight game for just the third time this season. AFP
