Victor Wembanyama notched up an impressive 40 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to help the San Antonio Spurs beat New York Knicks 130-126 during an NBA overtime victory on Friday.
A stunning 61-point performance from New York's Jalen Brunson couldn’t help his side avoid defeat during the match.
French star Wembanyama became the first rookie since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993 to record a 40-point, 20-rebound game. The 20-year-old secured seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
“I’ve never seen so much greatness before,” Wembanyama said. “The season has been going on for just some months. I’ve just witnessed so much greatness and I want to be a part of it. I always wanted to, but more and more seeing that I’m already able to compete with those guys. I’m not near, but I’m on the right path. I know it and I’m going to get there and soon.”
Brunson was unlucky that he couldn’t break Knicks' franchise record of 62 points in a game, registered by Carmelo Anthony in 2014.
Brunson bagged the fifth-highest points total of this season, but he fluffed a chance of a go-ahead three-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining in overtime.
“It’s great, but it’s washed out with the window with the loss,” Brunson said. “So, it doesn’t really matter.”
The Spurs, who clinched victory in their third-straight game for the first time this season, notched up 74 points in the first half and were in front most of the night.
"He's pretty special," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama, adding that the Spurs' ability to withstand an "amazing" Brunson and the Knicks' late charge showed how much they have developed this year.
"All teams lose leads," Popovich said. "But how you come back from it is important and earlier in the year we would not have sustained our own execution, our own pace. You can see the maturity that they've developed during the season.
"(They) stayed strong when New York made a heck of a run."