Gregg Popovich felt Victor Wembanyama had a "wonderful outing" in his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs.
Luka Doncic inspired the Dallas Mavericks to a 126-119 victory over the Spurs at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, but all eyes were on the 19-year-old first overall draft pick.
Wembanyama was limited by foul trouble throughout the night and had to step out of the game during stages of the third and fourth quarters.
He ultimately played for 23 minutes and was able to finish with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including some standout moments in the closing stages as he returned to the court for the final seven minutes.
The Frenchman added five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. He connected with three of his five attempts from 3-point range.
"One of the toughest things for a player is you get into foul trouble," Spurs coach Popovich said after the game, per ESPN.
"You never get in a rhythm and you are in and out of the game and that sort of thing.
"So, I thought his maturity showed even at a young age where he came in with the last seven minutes and just played.
"We ran some stuff for him, he executed where a lot of guys would have been totally out of it by then because they were in foul trouble and didn't get the rhythm.
"I thought he had a wonderful outing considering that."
Wembanyama acknowledged the result stopped it from being an ideal evening, but was in an optimistic mood after the loss.
"Lots of emotions for sure, but it would have been perfect with a win," he said. "We are learning and it’s only our first regular season game together.
"It might be frustrating [to be in foul trouble], but always keeping your head up is good for my teammates. I can't show it [frustration] on the court, and we learn every day.
"We're going to watch film and if we notice [issues] on the film, the coaches and ourselves, the players, will make whatever it takes to get better."
Doncic had a triple-double with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Kyrie Irving contributed 22 points as Dallas made a winning start.
"It was a hall of fame performance like [Doncic] does almost every night," added Popovich. "He was great. Kyrie wasn't bad either. So, the two future hall of famers got us."
San Antonio is back in action at home to the Houston Rockets on Friday and Doncic, who relished the challenge of facing Wembanyama on his debut, has no doubt the Spurs phenom will thrive in the NBA.
Doncic said: "It was fun. We knew the whole building was going to be loud and everything.
"This is probably one of the best prospects to enter the NBA, so it was fun. For me personally, I like challenges, so that was a fun challenge.
"He obviously has the size like everybody talks about, but the way he moves for 7-5, 7-6 – I don't know what it is, sorry – but he moves incredibly.
"He moves like a point guard almost. So it's pretty amazing to see him. He's going to have a great future, and it's going to be amazing to watch."
The Mavericks will look to make it two straight wins when they take on the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center on Friday.
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
Conley return completes Timberwolves as they force Nuggets decider
Mike Conley Jr. said his return had completed the Minnesota Timberwolves after they crushed the Denver Nuggets to force a Game 7 in the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.
The Nuggets had the chance to eliminate the Timberwolves at Target Center on Thursday after going 3-2 up in the series, but the hosts roared back to tie things up with a 115-70 rout.
Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting, with the Timberwolves' win the second-largest NBA Playoff victory by a team facing elimination in history.
Edwards put the team's improvement down to the return of guard Conley, who missed Game 5 after suffering from soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
Asked what had changed for Minnesota, Edwards said: "We got Mike Conley back. That was it."
Conley said: "Obviously I wanted to play the last game. I just couldn't move at all. Tonight it was a no-brainer.
"I was going to try to find a way. We're just better when we're a complete team."
MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, who were stunned by a 20-0 first-quarter run from the third-seeded Timberwolves.
Asked how Denver would look to forget about the loss, Jokic said: "I think we shouldn't.
"I think we need to let it sink in. It's a great loss. They destroyed us, and we should learn from it."
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