24 hours after their defeat, Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets took revenge on Wembanyama’s Spurs. Meanwhile, American stars Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard shone.
San Antonio was defeated at home by Denver, while Kawhi Leonard, who made his comeback after eight months of absence, participated in the Clippers’ great success against Atlanta on Saturday in the NBA.
Jokic takes revenge on “Wemby”
In San Antonio, Nikola Jokic scored 46 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets, who spoiled Victor Wembanyama’s 21st birthday with a victory (122-111) in overtime against the Spurs.
Wembanyama scored 20 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, with three assists and four blocked shots. But the French star, whose exploits at the end of the match sealed the Spurs’ success over the Nuggets in Denver on Friday, failed to score a single point in overtime.
Harrison Barnes scored 22 points for San Antonio and Devin Vassell added 19. Vassell tied it at 108-108 with 14 seconds left in the game.
Jokic then missed a shot to win but was then dominant with nine points in “extra-time”. The Serbian star, who won the NBA’s best player award for the third time last season, added 10 assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Edwards monstrous in defeat
Cade Cunningham scored 40 points to lead the Pistons to victory, who held off Anthony Edwards’ 53 points, his career high, to beat the Timberwolves (119-105).
Edwards, who had expressed frustration after averaging just 16.3 points over the last three games against strong two-man shots from opposing defenders, found plenty of ways to score. He made 16 of 31 shots, including 10 of 15 three-pointers, and 11 of 12 free throw attempts.
But he didn’t have much support and Minnesota was trailed most of the game by a Detroit team, led by Cunningham, who had a season-high in points and added six rebounds and nine assists to its balance sheet.
Thanks to this third success in a row, the Pistons are in 9th place in the East while the Timberwolves, beaten three times in a row, are in 10th position in the West.
Leonard’s “comeback” with the Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers celebrated the season debut of two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard with a comfortable home victory over the Hawks (131-105).
The 33-year-old winger hadn’t played since April 26, 2024, and he missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games last season due to right knee inflammation. The injury dashed his hopes of playing for the United States at the Paris Olympics.
Leonard started and scored 12 points, starting with a successful three-pointer in front of Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher, who scored 13 points. The Los Angeles native added three rebounds, an assist and a steal in just under 20 minutes on the court.
The Croatian pivot of the Clippers Ivica Zubac shone with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Opposite, Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter did not weigh enough, with 20 and 18 points respectively.
