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The San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama nearly stole a Christmas Day victory at Madison Square Garden, but the New York Knicks were able to escape 117-114 in the final minutes.
Wembanyama made his presence known early. The second-year big man connected on four threes by halftime, and dominated in the paint with 18 rebounds on the afternoon.
“They didn't win against us because they played better basketball. Not at all,” via New York Basketball on X, formerly Twitter.
The Spurs went into this game with a chip on their shoulder following a close 111-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Victor Wembanyama shines on Christmas Day despite the Spurs loss
Wembanyama finished the game with 42 points on 16-of-31 shooting and 6-of-16 from three. After making history in the Christmas Day matinee, the Spurs star downplayed his strong performance, and kept the focus on the result of the game at MSG.
“It’s not my first thought at all, I don’t even know the real history by heart of the best Christmas games in history,” Wembanyama said after the game, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I’m thinking about the game right now and just thinking we’re close, but we lack some attributes at times. You know, we’re right there. It was a really disputed game.”
The Spurs committed 15 turnovers to the Knicks' five, and it appeared that the wheels fell off for the San Antonio late in the third quarter. The Knicks outscored them 37-25, and saw an explosive performance out of Mikal Bridges.
