LOS ANGELES – The Milwaukee Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 44 points, held off the San Antonio Spurs 125-121 on Jan 4 despite another stellar performance from Victor Wembanyama on his 20th birthday, which led the Greek to call him “special”.
In the other match of a National Basketball Association (NBA) marquee double-header, Nikola Jokic drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give reigning champions Denver Nuggets a 130-127 victory over the Golden State Warriors – who had led by 18 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama was restricted to 26 minutes on the floor in his highly anticipated first encounter with fellow big man Antetokounmpo after he missed the Spurs’ December game in Milwaukee because of ankle trouble. The French rookie scored 27 points with nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 34 points, but the highlight-reel battle between Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama stole the show at Frost Bank Centre in San Antonio.
“He’s special. He’s an unbelievable talent,” Antetokounmpo said of Wembanyama, whose combination of size and skill has drawn comparisons to the Greek superstar.
Wembanyama thrilled fans with an array of jaw-dropping shots, including a first-half dunk off his own bounce off the backboard.
“He can score at will, any time he wants. Plays the right way, plays to win. I’ve never seen anything like him. It was good playing against him,” said Antetokounmpo, who grabbed 14 rebounds as the Bucks improved to 25-10, the third-best record in the league.
The entertaining contest was tied 93-93 heading into a fourth quarter that featured eight lead changes, the Spurs battling for the upset in a season that has seen them win just five games.
For Wembanyama, it was also a chance to test himself against a player he “grew up watching” in Antetokounmpo – a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player who led the Bucks to the NBA title in 2021.
“It’s always extra motivation. I want to go at everyone and be the bad guy on the court. So it was a great match-up,” the French prodigy said.
Antetokounmpo drained a three-pointer to tie it up at 118-118 with three minutes to play. He then drew a charge call on Wembanyama and, less than a minute later, drilled another three-pointer to put the Bucks up 121-118.
Wembanyama answered with a big block of a Damian Lillard lay-up and a three-pointer that tied it with 1:09 remaining.
A dunk from Antetokounmpo put the Bucks back in front, but Wembanyama blocked another shot from a driving Antetokounmpo to keep the Spurs within reach.
A heavily guarded Wembanyama found open teammate Tre Jones for a potential game-tying three-pointer with just over a second to play, but Jones’ shot didn’t fall.
“The outcome isn’t what we wanted, but it was the widest open shot,” Wembanyama said, adding that the Spurs’ overall performance was encouraging.
“Just the fact that we can compete with a championship level team like this is promising,” he said.
In San Francisco, Jokic sealed the Nuggets’ comeback win with a shot from just inside half court, finishing with 34 points on 13-of-16 shooting.
The two-time NBA MVP added 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Jokic’s step-back basket had tied it at 127-127 with 26 seconds remaining.
Teammate Jamal Murray then came up with a steal of a Stephen Curry pass to set the stage for Jokic, who took an inbounds pass and headed up the court, pulling up to bank in the game-winner over Kevon Looney.
“Great players make great plays,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
“Nikola catching the ball there and making something behind that, it’s just incredible... I’m very proud of our group for staying with it.”
Jokic added: “I think those shots are the easiest shots to take. You don’t have any other options. So actually, when I felt it, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to bank this’. You can see the flight of the ball, and I just knew.”
Aaron Gordon added 30 points and Murray scored 25 for the Nuggets.
Curry led Golden State with 30 points and six assists. Klay Thompson added 24 points for the Warriors, who outscored the Nuggets 44-24 in the third quarter to seize control of the contest and were up by 18 with 6:51 to play.
ESPN reported on Dec 4 that forward Draymond Green – who has been suspended indefinitely since Dec 13 – is expected to return to Golden State’s facility over the next few days to begin his preparation to resume play. He was banned for striking Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic.
Meanwhile, The Brooklyn Nets were fined US$100,000 (S$133,129) by the NBA on Dec 4 for violating the league’s new Player Participation Policy, created to help ensure top players compete in big games.
The league said the Nets ran afoul of the rule, introduced this season, in a Dec 27 home game against Milwaukee. AFP
