For his first Christmas game, Victor Wembanyama was at his best, scoring 42 points at Madison Square Garden, but was unable to prevent the Spurs from losing to the Knicks.
Christmas Day is one of the most important moments of the NBA season. And this year it opened with the first appearance of Victor Wembanyama on Christmas Day. THE San Antonio Spurs they traveled to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicksgiving the alien a chance to shine on one of the world's biggest stages.
But a walk-off and then two three-point shots showed the Frenchman's tension at the start of the game, while Mikal Bridges he scored his team's first 7 points. Fortunately Wemby he found his rhythm on defense, especially on the counterattack, but from three points he was a real mess (0/4 at the beginning) until the end of the quarter. Luckily his teammates did their job to stay in the game after one quarter (28-27).
And Wemby did their job, drawing two fouls from Karl-Anthony Towns. Unleashed, he made baskets and the Spurs took the lead with a partial 8-0. Unstoppable, the Frenchman keeps the Knicks at bay, but Jalen Brunson puts them back on track.
In excellent form, the point guard held his own and gave them the lead again, bringing the Knicks back into the game. At times it seemed like a game “Wembanyama contro New York”with the Tricolore having had such an impact. His teammates woke up before halftime, however, with a couple of first-class dunks, but at the break it was the Frenchman's 24 points that gave Spurs the lead at the Garden(51-58).
New York tied the score after halftime, mostly because Towns he's finally made an impact in the paint and behind the arc. KAT gave a hard time to Wemby for a quarter of an hour, but what stood out was an excellent performance Mikal Bridges. With the Knicks' three-point accuracy on the rise, the Spurs looked like they were about to collapse.
And after one final push, New York appeared to have the game in hand at the end of the third quarter(88-83). But San Antonio responded with a partial 9-0 e Of the flesh has resumed its forward march, exceeding the threshold of 40 points. The alien gets fired up, shoots from 30 feet and Mikal Bridges it is still in control. The end of the match promised to be hot.
But the collective strength of the Knicks is starting to be felt. The Spurs defense seems outnumbered, but the attack holds out, until Bridges he doesn't break 40 meters to bury Spurs' chances. Or so it seemed, as San Antonio, and Chris Paul in particular, they refused to die. But two offensive rebounds on the final play of the game preserved the Knicks' victory per 117-114. Victor Wembanyamadespite his 42 points, did not win on his first day of Christmas.
