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Wembanyama returns to help Spurs to NBA Cup final

Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama stands at 7ft 4in tall and was drafted by the Spurs with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft [Getty Images]

Victor Wembanyama made his return from injury for the San Antonio Spurs and helped them reach the NBA Cup final with a win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The French sensation, who missed 12 games with a left calf issue, scored 22 points as the Spurs dramatically beat the NBA champions 111-109 in Las Vegas.

Wembanyama also registered nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks during his 21 minutes on court as the Thunder lost for only the second time in 26 games this season.

"I knew I had limited minutes so I had to make the most out of it," said 21-year-old Wembanyama, whose team-mate Devin Vassell scored 23 points.

"Winning against a team like this, it might seem like it's just a game but it's a collective effort and it's not an easy thing.

"It's only their second loss of the season. It means something."

The NBA Cup is the competition's annual in-season tournament, with all matches except the final also counting towards the regular season standings.

The Thunder were beaten in last year's final by the Milwaukee Bucks and had a 16-game winning run ended by the Spurs as they exited this season's competition.

Oklahoma City had equalled the best 25-game start to a season when they went 24-1 by beating the Phoenix Suns in the quarter-finals, but they have now made the second best start to a campaign after 26 games as the Golden State Warriors were 25-1 at the same stage in 2015-16.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, top scored for the Thunder against the Spurs with a game-high 29 points.

San Antonio will play the New York Knicks in the final after they beat the Orlando Magic 132-120.

Jalen Brunson scored a season-high 40 points to inspire the Knicks to victory, while team-mate Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 points.

"We came out here and did exactly what we said we wanted to do, which was play Knicks basketball," said Towns.

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Graham Ike leads No. 8 Gonzaga past No. 25 UCLA for 9th win of the season

Graham had 25 points and five assists and No. 8 Gonzaga beat No. 25 UCLA 82-72 on Saturday night to improve to 9-1. Ike scored 15 points in the first half, highlighted by a tomahawk dunk with 8:02 remaining that gave Gonzaga a 23-19 advantage. The Bulldogs took their first lead shortly before Ike’s dunk on a 3-pointer by Adam Miller, negating a 7-0 deficit.

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Knicks to face Spurs in NBA Cup Championship on Tuesday

The stage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is set.

The Knicks will face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup Championship on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 8:30 p.m.

New York beat the Orlando Magic in the semifinals on Saturday night, 132-120, with Jalen Brunson scoring a game-high 40 points.

After the Knicks' victory, the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama upset the Oklahoma City Thunder and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 111-109, to advance to the finals. The former No. 1 overall pick had 22 points and nine rebounds in just 21 minutes off the bench in his first game back from injury.

The Spurs snapped OKC's 16-game winning streak and handed them just their second loss of the season. San Antonio has now won three straight to improve to 18-7, while New York has won five straight games this month, owning an 18-7 record as well.

It'll be the first matchup between the two teams this season. Both franchises are looking to win their first in-season tournament title.

While the championship game result will not impact either team's regular season record, the players on the winning team will earn $530,933 in prize money, per Front Office Sports. The players on the runner-up team will earn $212,373.

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83. Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14. Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

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Knicks' Jalen Brunson after first 40-point game of season: 'I work way too hard not to be confident'

Jalen Brunson's first 40-point game of the year couldn't have come at a better time.

The All-Star point guard dropped a season-high on Saturday night to lead the Knicks over the Orlando Magic and advance to the NBA Cup Championship on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

Brunson's scoring outburst came on 16-of-27 shooting (59.3 percent), despite going 2-of-5 from three-point land and only making six free throws. He also added in eight assists, four rebounds, and a steal over 39 minutes in the 132-120 win. 

After the victory, Brunson spoke with the NBA on Prime crew about his performance and how his game continues to improve, especially on the big stages.

"I think the way we've been playing, I've been able to get a couple more catch and shoots. I have a lot of confidence in my shot," Brunson said. "I work way too hard not to be confident. Sometimes it's going to go in, and when it's going in I'm just going to keep firing them."

The 29-year-old was then asked by former two-time MVP Steve Nash about his "touch around the rim" and how that keeps getting better over the course of his career.

"It's something I had to learn," Brunson said. "Obviously I'm not the tallest and I'm not jumping over people... My game's unique. I play off balance. I'm on balance, but most people wouldn't be. That's the stuff I work on, just be deceiving. I've done it for a long time and it keeps getting better and better like you said."

Brunson's previous season-high in scoring was 37 points, which he's had twice this year (against the Heat on Oct. 26 and vs. the Bucks on Nov. 28). He's now averaging 28.3 points per game over 22 contests and has scored 30-plus points in four consecutive games.

New York, winners of five straight games, will need Brunson to continue playing with that confidence to keep their streak going on Tuesday night in the NBA Cup Championship against the winner of the Thunder-Spurs semifinal game.

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Kansas’ Melvin Council Jr. had struggled outside. Then came 9 3-pointers in an OT win at NC State

Melvin Council Jr. hadn't hit much of anything from behind the arc this season for No. 19 Kansas. Only, Council responded with a performance that his Hall of Fame coach could only describe as “unbelievable.” The 6-foot-4 senior had career highs of 36 points and nine 3-pointers, and the Jayhawks needed every bit of it to hold off the Wolfpack 77-76 in overtime — particularly with freshman star Darryn Peterson exiting late in regulation with lingering hamstring trouble.

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No. 19 Kansas’ Darryn Peterson exited game vs. NC State with tightness in his hamstring, Self says

Kansas coach Bill Self said freshman star Darryn Peterson “was getting tight” in his hamstring and checked out late in regulation during the 19th-ranked Jayhawks' 77-76 overtime win at N.C. State. The 6-foot-6 guard who could be the top pick in the NBA draft if he goes one-and-done had recently returned from a seven-game absence due to a hamstring strain. He exited abruptly at the 2:15 mark Saturday with Kansas up two and watched the rest of the game from the bench.

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Knicks advance to NBA Cup Finals after high-flying 132-120 win over Magic

The Knicks beat the Orlando Magic, 132-120, on Saturday night in Las Vegas to move on to the NBA Cup Finals for the first time.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Things got off to a fast start in this one as both teams shot over 60 percent from the field in the first quarter which featured nine lead changes. Both squads did most of their damage in the paint early on with guys running up and down the court for easy transition buckets or creating their own shot in the mid-range. 

-- In fact, New York only made two threes (on eight attempts) in the opening 12 minutes -- both by OG Anunoby and one with 4.8 seconds left in the quarter -- but still scored 33 points. However, the Magic, led by Jalen Suggs, did even better and put up 36 points.

-- Suggs continued to lead Orlando in the second quarter and scored a career-high 25 points in the first half, although he seemed to injure himself slightly just before the break. The Magic needed every bit of it, too, because the rest of the team's hot shooting from the first quarter largely disappeared as they shot under 40 percent in the second, although they still scored 28 points.

-- The Knicks, particularly Jalen Brunson, took advantage of Orlando's poor shooting and continued to lean on points in the paint to get it done, taking the lead by doing whatever they wanted near the basket. From Brunson to Mikal Bridges to even Tyler Kolek, everybody got involved. Still, it was Brunson who was matching Suggs' offensive output with 24 of his own in the first half.

-- After another quarter shooting over 60 percent from the field and scoring 38 points, New York went into halftime with a 71-64 lead.

-- Needing help from players not named Suggs and no Franz Wagner in the lineup, Paolo Banchero got more involved out of the gates after a quiet first half and helped the Magic get closer. After tying it, Orlando even took the lead on Desmond Bane two-pointer with 5:24 left in the quarter that made it 87-85 and forced head coach Mike Brown to call a timeout.

-- The Knicks regrouped after the pause and closed out the quarter on a 14-3 run to be up eight going into the fourth quarter.

-- With a trip to the NBA Cup Finals on the line, New York put Orlando away in the final frame, never allowing the Magic to get back into the game. Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and put the exclamation point of a convincing win with a dunk in the final seconds.

-- Brunson went for a game-high 40 points on 16-for-27 from the field and added eight assists, four rebounds and a steal. Every other Knicks starter finished with double-digit points as the team shot 61 percent from the floor. 

-- With Josh Hart once again in the starting lineup, New York improved to 9-1 this season with him as a starter compared to 9-6 with Hart coming off the bench.

-- After his phenomenal first half, Suggs disappeared in the second half and scored just one point as the injury sustained likely played a role.

Game MVP: Jalen Brunson

Brunson was doing whatever he wanted all game, getting to his spots and knocking down shot after shot from start to finish.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks will play the winner of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup Finals on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 8:30 p.m. in Las Vegas.

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Cavaliers Evan Mobley expected to miss 2-4 weeks with calf strain

While injuries have hit the Cavaliers hard to start the season — Darius Garland, Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen have missed significant time, while Max Strus has yet to play — Evan Mobley has been a rock this season.

Until now, Mobley strained his calf against the Wizards on Friday night and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, the team announced.

Mobley is the latest star to miss time with a calf strain this season.

Mobley is averaging 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds a game this season, shooting 35.2% from 3-point range. While those counting stats are close to what Mobley did a season ago, he has been less efficient getting there, with a 57.6 true shooting percentage (close to the league average), well off the 63.3 he had last season (and a concern because the Cavaliers needed him to take a step forward. More concerning is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year not being there to protect the rim for a few weeks — the Cavaliers' defense is 2.9 points per 100 possessions worse when Mobley is off the court. The good news is the Cavaliers should get center Jarrett Allen back.

Mobley has missed just one game so far this season, but if he is out for a month, he will be in danger of not playing 65 games, making him ineligible to defend his title or, once again, make the All-NBA team.