Victor Wembanyama bounced back from one of his worst NBA outings with a rare 5×5 to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a 106-88 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
A night after scoring a career-low six points in a loss at Oklahoma City, Wembanyama amassed 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and five steals.
It was the second time the 20-year-old had accomplished the so-called 5×5 (five of each category), and Wembanyama joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko as the only NBA players ever to do it more than once. Olajuwon did it six times, Kirilenko three.
Chris Paul contributed 19 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and two steals for San Antonio. Collin Sexton put up a team-high 16 points for Utah, which played without leading scorer Lauri Markkanen (back spasms).
Suns 125, Clippers 119
Devin Booker scored a season-high 40 points as Phoenix rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to beat Los Angeles in Inglewood, Calif.
Royce O’Neale added 21 points, Kevin Durant scored 18, rookie Ryan Dunn had 16 in his second career start and Jusuf Nurkic put up 11 as the Suns won for the second time in two weeks at the Clippers’ new $2 billion Intuit Dome. Phoenix made 15 consecutive shots to open the second half, sparking a rally that extended its winning streak to three games.
James Harden produced 25 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds while Norman Powell added 23 points as the Clippers fell to 0-3 in their new building. Harden became the 20th player in NBA history to pass 26,000 career points. Ivica Zubac scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Rockets 108, Mavericks 102
Jalen Green scored a team-high 23 points and Houston fended off a fourth-quarter comeback to win in Dallas.
Green buried a 3-pointer with 1:12 remaining to stabilize the Rockets and answer Luka Doncic’s 3-pointer that had pulled Dallas to within 100-97. Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun scored 17 points apiece for the Rockets, who got a combined 25 points and eight rebounds from Amen Thompson and Tari Eason off the bench. Sengun matched Green with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Doncic scored 15 of his game-high 29 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving (28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) kept the Mavericks afloat before Doncic and Klay Thompson (eight fourth-quarter points) fueled the frantic fourth-quarter rally. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points.
Grizzlies 122, Bucks 99
Ja Morant recorded 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to carry short-handed Memphis over visiting Milwaukee.
The Grizzlies, who snapped a two-game losing streak, also got 19 points and nine rebounds from Santi Aldama. Jaylen Wells and Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 16 points apiece, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 13 points, Jake LaRavia had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Edey produced 10 points and eight boards. The triple-double was the 12th of Morant’s career.
Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 37 points and 11 rebounds. Brook Lopez scored 12 points, and Bobby Portis had 11.
–Field Level Media
