By ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges had 25 points, Jalen Brunson scored 24 and the New York Knicks snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-game winning streak with a 114-89 victory on Sunday, March 1.
After going unbeaten in February, the Spurs were shut down to open March, never recovering from the Knicks’ 26-2 run in the first half and losing for the first time since Jan. 31 in Charlotte.
Victor Wembanyama bounced back from two quiet offensive games with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, but a Spurs team that became the first in NBA history to go unbeaten and score at least 110 points in every game while playing at least 10 in a month fell flat after a fast start.
Mohamed Diawara had 14 points off the bench for the Knicks, who also beat the Spurs earlier this season to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.
Wembanyama had been limited to 12 points in each of the last two games. He was much sharper Sunday in his first game at Madison Square Garden since finishing with 42 points and 18 rebounds in a loss on Christmas 2024 in his first time playing on the holiday.
But the Spurs couldn’t overcome 22 turnovers that led to 24 points and were also outrebounded 54-41.
The Knicks beat the Spurs for the Cup title in December, when they started 23-9 and looked like a contender to play for the more important championship that gets decided in June. They had been only 15-13 since, starting with the Spurs’ 134-132 victory on New Year’s Eve.
But after missing 14 of their first 18 shots, they were the dominant team against one that had been the NBA’s hottest.
The Spurs led 19-7 after Stephon Castle’s 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining in the first quarter. But Brunson had 11 points in the final 1:52 to give the Knicks a 22-21 lead after one.
New York opened the second quarter with an 11-0 spurt, with Bridges’ basket making it 33-21. New York led by 26.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic had 28 points and nine assists, LeBron James added 24 points and the Los Angeles Lakers finished a back-to-back set with a 128-104 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Austin Reaves scored 12 points for the Lakers, who also won at Golden State on Saturday to end a three-game skid. After a week of unimpressive play following the All-Star break, Los Angeles snapped back into form on the weekend, beating its two Northern California rivals by a combined 52 points.
Doncic made four 3-pointers as the NBA’s leading scorer played only the first three quarters, while James, Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard hit three 3s apiece. The Lakers made 17 of their first 33 3-point attempts while the starters were still playing, flirting with the franchise record for 3-point shooting percentage before finishing 18 of 39.
The 41-year-old James had a pair of rim-shaking dunks that he celebrated with zeal during a comfortable win for the Lakers, who never trailed again after Sacramento scored the game’s opening basket.
Neemias Queta scored a career-high 27 points and added 17 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics recover from a slow start and rally to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 114-98.
Jaylen Brown added 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Derrick White finished with 21 points and eight assists as the Celtics became the fourth team to reach 40 victories. They have won six of seven.
It was the 11th double-double of the season for Queta, who also had three blocks. He has three double-doubles — with at least two blocks in each — over his last five games.
