LeBron James made it four straight games with a triple-double, the best run of his illustrious career, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 120-115.

Having won the inaugural NBA in-season tournament last year, the Lakers began their defence of the crown with a group-stage win over Victor Wembanyama and company.

James scored the Lakers' last four points to make sure of the victory, finishing with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists for the 117th triple-double of his NBA career – the fifth-most of all time.

As well as going four consecutive games with a triple-double for the very first time, the league's all-time leading scorer also matched the Lakers' franchise record for consecutive triple-doubles.

Russell Westbrook recorded four in a row for Los Angeles from December 25 to December 31, 2021, while Magic Johnson did so on two occasions (March 28 to November 3, 1981 and March 31 to April 5, 1987).

"The best thing about my game is I can have no rhythm offensively and still have an impact on the game," James said after the win. "I was able to do that tonight."

Asked what made him most proud of his achievement, James added: "Probably that I did it in Season 22.

"To still have the energy to do that and the effort, it takes a lot. But also, it takes great team-mates along the way, too. 

"Those assists only happen when guys are making shots, and I just try to put the ball on time, on target and then defensively, rebound and try to help on the glass with Anthony [Davis] and the rest of the guys. 

"And I try to sprinkle in a little points from time to time... but waiting 22 years to do something is wild, so, that's a good question right there."

Davis led the Lakers with 40 points and 12 rebounds, while Wembanyama had a team-high 28 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for San Antonio.

Victor Wembanyama is proud after scoring career-highs with 50 points and eight 3-pointers, but says his main focus is to keep helping the San Antonio Spurs improve.

The Spurs registered a 139-130 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, with the Frenchman leading the charge as they improved their home record to 5-2.

At 20 years and 314 days, Wembanyama is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points, behind only Brandon Jennings, LeBron James and Devin Booker.

His previous best was 40 points in an overtime victory over the New York Knicks on March 29.

Having become the eighth player in franchise history to score 50 points and making at least six 3-pointers for the third straight game, Wembanyama is in strong form so early in the season.

Though he likes to celebrate the milestones, he is already considering how he can overshadow them in the future.

"I love to celebrate the small wins and the big wins for a certain amount of time," he said. "But we're already locked in on the Lakers.

"I'm going to give myself a little bit of time to reflect. It's definitely a big milestone. It's kind of a private club, it's certainly something I'm proud of.

"My first thought is, eventually, I want the rest of our performances, the rest of our games, to overshadow this one. I want to make it where in the future, [this is] just another one."

Wembanyama was influential throughout his time on the court but inflicted the most damage in the third quarter. He shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from long range for 19 points with four rebounds, one assist and a block.

"The big fella, man, when he comes out with that mindset, it's a hard opportunity to deal with," Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said of his team-mate.

"Big praise to him, big shoutout to him. He's working on his game. I don't know what it was that he took personal, but he took something personal, went out there and hooped."

Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points and sparked a second-half rally that lifted the still-unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-113 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Cleveland fought back from a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter to become only the eighth team in NBA history to begin a season 12-0. The Cavaliers are the only team to win each of its first 12 games while scoring at least 110 points in all of those contests.

Darius Garland added 17 points and Evan Mobley had 15 with 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which once again received a big contribution from its second unit. Reserves Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and Ty Jerome each recorded 12 points, with Jerome dishing out six assists as well.

Zach LaVine had 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting in his second outing back from a three-game absence, but Chicago was hurt by 20 turnovers and lost for the fifth time in six games.

Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each finished with 20 points for the Bulls, while Josh Giddey scored 18 to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Cleveland trailed 85-76 with four minutes left in the third quarter before getting back into it with a 9-0 run led by its bench. LeVert and Dean Wade started the flurry with back-to-back 3-pointers before Niang converted a three-point play to tie the game with 2:53 left in the period.

The teams were again tied at 106-106 with five minutes to go, but the Cavs put together a 9-2 spurt capped by LeVert's 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining to go ahead for good.

Cleveland owned a 52-42 lead midway through the second quarter before the Bulls answered with a 14-2 run to take a 56-54 edge with four minutes to play before half-time.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores career-high 45 as Thunder bounce back

One night after losing one of their star players for an extended period, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned to their winning ways behind a huge performance from another.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander racked up a career-high 45 points as Oklahoma City got back in the win column with a 134-128 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Thunder were coming off Sunday's 127-116 home defeat to the Golden State Warriors in which starting center Chet Holmgren suffered a pelvic fracture that will sideline him at least eight weeks. With the 7-footer unavailable, the Clippers recorded a 47-29 rebounding advantage while also going 20 of 37 (54.1 per cent) from 3-point range.

Oklahoma City still prevailed in large part due to Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished 13 of 21 from the field and 15 of 16 from the foul line while adding nine assists.

The Thunder also received a big 28-point, eight-rebound, six-assist effort from Jalen Williams and 19 points from Luguentz Dort to overcome a 31-point display from Los Angeles' Norman Powell, who went 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Los Angeles had its four-game winning streak snapped despite Ivica Zubac's 22 points and 14 rebounds and a near triple-double from James Harden, who tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

The Clippers couldn't stop Gilgeous-Alexander, though, as the two-time All-Star put up 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half to propel the Thunder to a 66-53 lead at intermission.

Oklahoma City's margin swelled to 20 points in the third quarter, though Los Angeles closed out the period with an 11-2 run to pull within 99-94 on Powell's 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

The Clippers cut the lead to two late when Zubac converted a three-point play to make the score 130-128 with 42.3 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws on the other end, however, before Willams sealed the outcome with a dunk off a Harden turnover.

Wembanyama dominates as Spurs cruise past Kings

Victor Wembanyama joined an elite group of NBA players with a 34-point, 14-rebound effort that carried the San Antonio Spurs to a 116-96 win over the Sacramento Kings.

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year added six assists in his 82nd career game and became only the sixth player in league history to record 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists over a first full season. That list includes such legends as Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird.

Chris Paul contributed 12 points and 11 assists for San Antonio, which had lost three of its previous four games but got back on track by making a season-high 22 shots from 3-point range. Wembanyama led the way in that category as well by going 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.

The Kings, coming off an overtime win at Phoenix on Sunday, built a 31-22 lead early in the second quarter but relinquished it before the end of the first half. 

San Antonio answered with a 10-2 run to cut its deficit to one, then closed out the half with seven straight points to own a 60-55 edge on Paul's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Kings then shot just 25 per cent in the third quarter while being outscored by a 24-16 margin for the period as the Spurs took an 84-71 lead into the fourth. Their margin never dipped below double-digits over the final 12 minutes.

De'Aaron Fox paced Sacramento with 24 points, while Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 12 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan finished with 21 points in the loss.

Victor Wembanyama made six three-pointers for the Utah Jazz, but could not drag the San Antonio Spurs over the line.

Wembanyama finished with a game-leading 24 points on Saturday, and marked the third NBA game of his career in which he has had at least five three-pointers and five blocks, which moved him level with Kristaps Porzingis for the second most in the competition's history, behind Raef LaFrentz (four).

Yet the Frenchman's career-best haul of threes could not help the Spurs avoid a 111-110 defeat.

It is now three defeats in the space of four games for San Antonio, and Wembanyama knows there is much more to come.

"My rhythm's there for sure," Wembanyama said.

"But there's so much more to be gained. It's just a matter of how well we can combine everything together. Once we combine it all, it's great.

"But it's about how often we can do it, and this is how we can keep piling up wins."

Victor Wembanyama was not satisfied after his 5x5 line helped the San Antonio Spurs to victory over the Utah Jazz.

Wembanyama posted 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks in Thursday's 106-88 win.

In the process, he became just the third player with multiple 5x5 games in the NBA, after Hakeem Olajuwon (six) and Andrei Kirilenko (three).

But Wembanyama said it just shows what he can do when he is at his best.

He said: "It tells me that I need to get my standards up.

"It tells me that I'm able to help my team in all of those areas and that this should be a consistent thing.

"As I've said before, I thought this was a game that we must have. So I was glad that I was able to help my team in every area."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said: "We want him to be able to do everything.

"We want him to be able to isolate and shoot the ball. We want him to do the whole deal.

"We just can't do it all at once. It depends on the situation and what is going on."

Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in a game that included a special homecoming for LeBron James and his son, Bronny.

The win marks the first time the Cavs have started 5-0 since the 2016-17 season, led by LeBron, and the third time in franchise history.

In the final minutes, Bronny played for the second time as a pro and was inserted with 5:16 left. The younger James, who grew up in the arena, made a 14-foot jumper with 2:03 to play for his first NBA points.

Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Cleveland.

LeBron scored 26 and Anthony Davis had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who were unable to cut into Cleveland's lead after falling behind by 23 in the first half.

Mitchell made back-to-back 3-pointers as the Cavaliers made four treys in a span of 1:45 in the first quarter to open a 19-point lead after one.

Towns’ big night powers Knicks           

Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Miami Heat 116-107.

Towns had the fourth-most points for the Knicks against the Heat. Jamal Crawford scored 52 in 2007, Carmelo Anthony had 50 at Miami in 2013 and RJ Barrett 46 in 2022.

Towns shot 17 of 24 from the field, 4 of 5 from long range and 24 of his 44 points in the first half to keep New York close.

Mikal Bridges added 17 points for New York, which trailed by 13 in the third quarter before flipping the game. OG Anunoby had 11 points and Josh Hart finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.

Tyler Herro had 34 points for Miami, hitting eight 3-pointers. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, Jimmy Butler had 15, Bam Adebayo 11 and Nikola Jovic 10.

The Knicks ended the third quarter on a 30-10 run, turning a 70-57 deficit into an 87-80 lead.

Thunder down Spurs to remain perfect

Lu Dort scored 20 points, Chet Holmgren added 19 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-93to remain the only unbeaten team in the Western Conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points, and Jalen Williams had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City has won all four of its games by at least 12 points.

Harrison Barnes scored 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Paul added 14 points and nine assists for the Spurs.

San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama was held to six points on 1-for-5 shooting in his matchup with Holmgren, a fellow second-year big man. Wembanyama also had eight rebounds and three blocks.

Oklahoma City showed it can win even when Gilgeous-Alexander's shot is off. Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the league's top scorers with 28.7 points per game through his first three contests, made just 7 of 20 shots, including 2 of 10 from 3.

The Spurs cut Oklahoma City's lead to 82-75 in the fourth quarter before the Thunder went on a 9-2 run with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench to regain control of the game. Rookie Ajay Mitchell scored five points during that stretch. The Thunder led 93-81 when Gilgeous-Alexander returned, and Oklahoma City was up 103-87 when he went to the bench for good with 2:46 remaining.

Klay Thompson was delighted with his "great" debut, after setting a new franchise record in the Dallas Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs.

He got 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes, with eighteen of those points coming from 3-pointers, a record for a Mavericks player.

Thompson, who left the Golden State Warriors after 13 years in the close season, helped push the Mavericks to a 120-109 victory on Thursday.

"Great debut," Thompson said.

"It's only one game in October, but it feels good just to get that first one out of the way.

"I had a ton of excitement, really just an awesome feeling. And you only get the first time of something so often."

Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, finished with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting with nine rebounds, one assist and a game-high-tying four turnovers to open his second season with the Spurs.

Due to his involvement in the Paris Olympics, Wembanyama was limited to fewer than 40 minutes in preseason, and he admitted he felt that in their season opener.

"Some moments felt great," Wembanyama said. "A little hard conditioning-wise at first, of course [as] I expected.

"But I think we had some good basketball moments and some really bad ones.

"None of us really have played four games since [the] middle of the summer for me. It's a struggle.

"Every player in the NBA goes through it. Conditioning is not an excuse [for missed shots]. I'll have different weapons we need to know when to use.

"So, for the missed shots, it's more getting used to taking shots, getting used to again taking shots in a game."

Anthony Edwards sank two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Sacramento's opener by beating the Kings 117-115 on Thursday night.

Edwards was fouled by Domantas Sabonis on a drive with the game tied and calmly hit the free throws to give him 32 points.

Keegan Murray's 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer for the Kings.

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 33 points in his second game after being acquired in a trade from New York this month.

Demar DeRozan scored 26 points to lead the Kings in his debut for Sacramento after being acquired this summer in a sign-and-trade from Chicago. Sabonis added 24 points and Murray had 23.

Edwards and Naz Reid hit back-to-back 3-pointers that started an 11-0 run for Minnesota that turned a five-point deficit into a 105-99 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

After going 13 for 41 from 3 in the opener, Minnesota shot 20 for 50 from long range against Sacramento. The 91 attempted 3s are the most ever for the Timberwolves in the first two games of a season.

Holmgren's all-around performance powers Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, Chet Holmgren added 25 as part of a stellar all-around game and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 102-87 in the season opener for both teams.

Holmgren proved to be a handful at both ends of the floor. He tied a career-high with 14 rebounds and had five assists and blocked four shots. Reserve Aaron Wiggins added 15 points.

It was an important divisional game right out of the gate. The Thunder and Nuggets both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of a tiebreaker.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for his 131st triple-double.  

Jokic's point guard partner, Jamal Murray, had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Christian Braun added 16 points, while Aaron Gordon, fresh off signing a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver missed 32 of 39 3-pointers.

New addition Russell Westbrook was held to six points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Doncic, Thompson pace Mavericks

Luka Doncic had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 22 points in his Dallas debut and the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 120-109 in the opener for both teams on Thursday night.

Kyrie Irving had 15 points for the defending Western Conference champions, who got eight assists from Doncic and seven rebounds from Thompson.

Thompson set a franchise record in a debut with six 3-pointers.

He scored 14 points after halftime and was 4 of 5 from long range, as Dallas went 13 of 21 from deep after making just 6 of 23 in the first half. The five-time All-Star and four-time champ with the Warriors also had seven rebounds and three steals.

Victor Wembanyama shot just 5 of 18 from the field for 17 points to open the young French phenom's second year with the Spurs. Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagnie scored 18 apiece.

Chris Paul had three points on 1-of-6 shooting to go with eight assists and seven rebounds in his Spurs debut.

While the San Antonio Spurs' 2023-24 season was all about experimentation, their upcoming campaign must be about getting results, says Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama was named Rookie of the Year last season after being selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Spurs.

He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last term, but the Spurs still missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

After finishing 22-60 last year, San Antonio's young team must take a step forward when they begin 2024-25 against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, believes Wembanyama.

"Last year was just a lot of experimenting," the 20-year-old said. "Here, we want to perform. First minute, first play of the game. It's very different.

"I'm learning, and I'm worried for the opponents in a couple of years." 

Head coach Gregg Popovich, who is entering his 28th season in the role, says players have been encouraged to take more responsibility this term. 

"I think, if anything, it's a little less tolerance," Popovich said. 

"Since the start of camp, we have been a little bit more disciplined in the sense of accountability, knowing that mistakes happen too often, we're telling players they need to understand that by now."

The Sacramento Kings have agreed on a sign-and-trade that will land them free agent guard DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls on a three-year, $74 million contract.

The Kings will send forward Harrison Barnes and an unprotected 2031 pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs and guard Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash to the Bulls, according to sources.

The first two seasons of DeRozan’s contract are fully guaranteed with a partial guarantee for the final year and includes $59 million in guaranteed money.

With the addition of DeRozan, the Kings have forged a formidable nucleus that includes All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox, All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and promising young forward Keegan Murray.

DeRozan is a six-time All-Star and is coming off an impressive three-year run with the Bulls and averaged 24 points on 48 percent shooting along with 4.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 2023-24.

He is a three-time All-NBA selection and has played for Toronto, San Antonio and Chicago across his 15 NBA seasons. He’s averaged 21.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 1,110 career NBA games.

The 34-year-old may not be a No. 1 option anymore, but he won’t need to be on a Sacramento team loaded with weapons. DeRozan should flourish in a secondary scoring role with the Kings.

Sacramento was looking to do something after finishing ninth in the Western Conference last season with a 46-36 record.

DeRozan travelled to Sacramento on Saturday to meet with team officials and Kings coach Mike Brown, who signed an offseason contract extension. Brown led the franchise to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2006.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama became the first rookie to be voted to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team when the league unveiled the voting on Tuesday.

Wembanyama received 98 of a possible 99 first-team votes to add to an impressive list of accolades after his first NBA season.

Rudy Gobert, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, was the only unanimous first-team selection.

Gobert and Wembanyama were joined on the first team by the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Herb Jones.

Gobert was voted All-Defence for the seventh time in his career, all on the first team.

Adebayo, long considered a top-tier defender, was selected to the first team for the first time in his career. Even the veterans, however, were appreciative of Wembanyama’s rookie campaign.

“Coming into this league, obviously he had high expectations because he's 7-3 and shooting step-back 3s. I think a lot of people paid attention more to that than what he actually did on the defensive end,” Adebayo said of Wembanyama. “So, for him to get first team, first come around, it's obviously a great accolade for him.”

Wembanyama led the league with 3.58 blocked shots per game, over a block more per game than any other player. The towering Frenchman was also eighth in the league at 10.6 rebounds per game and ranked in the top 25 with 1.24 steals per game.

This was the first season of position-less voting for the All-Defence teams, leading to a strong preference for interior defenders, but perimeter players were well-represented on the second team.

The Chicago Bulls’ Alex Caruso, the Orlando Magic’s Jalen Suggs, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels and Boston Celtics backcourt mates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were voted to the All-Defensive second team.

The league will announce its three All-NBA teams on Wednesday.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama capped a historic NBA season debut by being unanimously named the league's Rookie of the Year on Monday.

Wembanyama received all 99 first-place votes from selected media members to become the first player to unanimously win the award since Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015-16.

The heralded 20-year-old joins Spurs legends David Robertson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98) as the franchise's Rookie of the Year recipients. Wembanyama is also the first player from France to earn the honour in the award's history.

Oklahoma City center Chet Holmgren was a near-unanimous choice for runner-up, as he was named second on 98 of the 99 ballots. Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller finished third in voting, followed by Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski and Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II.

Touted as perhaps the NBA's best prospect since LeBron James in 2003, Wembanyama lived up to his substantial hype by becoming the first player in league history with at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers made in a season. The 7-foot-4 phenom led the league in blocks (254) and blocks per game (3.6) to become just the second rookie to place first in those categories, along with Manute Bol in 1985-86.

Wembanyama is also the fourth player in NBA history with 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocks in a season, joining a trio of Hall of Famers in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Robinson. Olajuwon and Robinson were the most recent players to accomplish the feat when they both did so in 1993-94.

In 71 overall contests, Wembanyama finished with per-game averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals.

Wembanyama will have an opportunity to collect some more hardware, as he is one of three finalists for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award to be announced Tuesday. Minnesota's Rudy Gobert and Miami's Bam Adebayo are the others. 

The San Antonio Spurs will be without Victor Wembanyama for their final game of the season on Sunday.

San Antonio face the Detroit Pistons in their last fixture of the 2023-24 campaign.

The Spurs have a 21-60 record on the season, and sit 14th in the Western Conference.

Wembanyama has nevertheless enjoyed a fine rookie season in the NBA, having been selected as the No.1 overall pick in last year's Draft.

The seven-foot-four French youngster will sit out against the Pistons due to an ankle injury, meaning he ends his rookie campaign with 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and an NBA-leading 3.6 blocks per game.

Wembanyama has played 71 times for the Spurs, who he helped to overcome the Denver Nuggets on Friday, finishing with 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

After that game, the 20-year-old said: "As a growing team, a young team, it's big for us.

"We're going to need these kind of wins in the future. We're going to need any win. But big-time wins against big teams, first seeds, we're going to need those in the future.

"We've got the potential to be great. The fact that we have the chance to live this, with the fans, I can only hope it's as incredible as it can be."

Wembanyama became the first rookie to accumulate 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocks across the season, while he is only the fourth player in the history of the NBA to do so, after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.

Joel Embiid shook off an apparent injury to finish with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists and the Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to seven with a 125-113 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Embiid had 21 points, nine boards and seven assists in the first 17 minutes but appeared to land awkwardly on his left knee late in the first half. He limped to midcourt and gave up on the play.

After coach Nick Nurse called timeout, Embiid went straight to the locker room. But he returned for the second half and promptly hit a 3-pointer on his first touch of the third quarter.

Orlando, Indiana and Philadelphia are all 46-35 after the Pacers lost to Cleveland and are fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Eastern Conference.

Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Paolo Banchero added 22 for Orlando, which dropped its third straight game. The Magic can win the Southeast Division with a victory over Milwaukee on Sunday.

Spurs rally to stun Nuggets

Devonte’ Graham scored on a floater in the lane with 0.9 seconds remaining and the San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 23-point deficit for a 121-120 win over the Denver Nuggets, who may have suffered a potentially damaging loss.

The loss dropped Denver out of sole possession of first place in the Western Conference and into a tie with Minnesota and Oklahoma City. After tiebreakers, the Timberwolves are first, the Thunder and second and the Nuggets are third heading into the final day of the regular season on Sunday.

Victor Wembanyama had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the West-worst Spurs, who trailed 76-53 early in the third quarter and were still down 17 early in the fourth.

Jamal Murray scored 35 points and Nikola Jokić had 22 and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who close the regular season Sunday at Memphis.

Thunder handle depleted Bucks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder boosted their chances at capturing the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 125-107 win over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks.

Chet Holmgren had 22 points and nine rebounds and Aaron Wiggins added 19 points for the Thunder, who won their fourth straight and ended the night tied for the top seed in the West after Denver lost to San Antonio and Minnesota beat Atlanta.

Milwaukee played without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (strained left calf) and All-Star Damian Lillard (sore left adductor) and dropped into a tie with the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the East. The Bucks can still finish second with a win at Orlando on Sunday or a New York loss to Chicago.

The San Antonio Spurs will rest Victor Wembanyama for Wednesday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, denying him a clash with fellow Rookie of the Year contender Chet Holmgren.

Wembanyama rolled his right ankle against the New Orleans Pelicans on April 5, having missed a game against the Phoenix Suns due to a left ankle sprain the previous month.

Last year's number one draft pick has played 70 games this season, averaging 21.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

With Wembanyama playing 31 minutes in Tuesday's 102-87 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Spurs are reportedly being cautious over his condition on the second leg of a back-to-back.

After Tuesday's game, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama's involvement: "We're going to talk it out. It's a question because we've held him out a lot of the back-to-backs. 

"Once when he had that foot thing and now down the stretch, I'm not sure it makes much sense to push it."

Popovich's decision to hold Wembanyama back means fans will be denied a meeting between the likely top two in the Rookie of the Year race, with Holmgren looking to maintain his record of appearing in every game for the Thunder this year. 

Wembanyama is expected to return to the court on Friday, when San Antonio host the Denver Nuggets in their penultimate game of the season.