Wembanyama finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes before limping off the court with an apparent leg injury with less than 11 minutes remaining. He returned to the bench in the warm-ups for the final minutes.
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New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, including a 3-pointer late in regulation after stripping Keldon Johnson of possession while celebrating with the San Antonio bench. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson each added 20 points for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Wembanyama limped off the court without help with 10:32 left and headed to the locker room after injuring his left leg. He had gone up for an offensive rebound on Towns and lost possession when he landed. Replays showed there was no contact, but Wembanyama’s left foot slid forward and his knee appeared to hyperextend.
Wembanyama returned to the San Antonio bench with 1:22 remaining, walking calmly and without a limp. It was a good time for the 7-foot-4 center to return. Wembanyama applauded from the sideline as the Spurs held on to beat the Knicks and snap a two-game losing streak.
Champagnie scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, hitting 4 of 5 from 3-point range, as San Antonio erased a double-digit deficit.
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New York outscored San Antonio 28-27 in the second quarter, but it would have been much worse without Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 center scored 16 points in the second period.
Wembanyama brought the sold-out crowd to its feet with a one-handed slam following an alley-oop pass from Castle that cut New York’s lead to 54-50. The Knicks responded with a 17-2 run after a timeout and Wembanyama’s departure, including 14 straight points to cap the surge.
Wembanyama returned to help reduce the deficit to 73-63.
Champagnie hit consecutive 3-pointers, capping a 16-2 run that tied the game at 86 midway through the third.
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Wembanyama scored the 300th triple of his career, becoming the fastest to do so among 7-footers and accomplishing the feat in 138 games. That surpassed the previous mark of 141 games by Utah’s Lauri Markkanen.
Next
Knicks: Host Sacramento on Thursday.
Spurs: At Indiana on Friday.
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NBA AP: https://apnews.com/NBA