SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was so proud of his players for beating the Denver Nuggets that he urged them to all go get a celebratory beer together, simply because they “deserved it”.
Victor Wembanyama scored 34 points as the Spurs stunned the National Basketball Association (NBA) champions 121-120, to upend the race for the No. 1 seeding in the Western Conference on April 12.
The French rookie, who has produced a dazzling debut season playing on a struggling Spurs team, was superb once again as San Antonio pulled off a remarkable victory.
The 20-year-old from Paris led an injury-hit Spurs line-up to finish with 34 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, underscoring his reputation as the most exciting talent in the NBA since LeBron James.
The result delighted veteran coach Popovich, who saw his team recover from a 23-point deficit early in the third quarter to snatch victory.
“Really proud of them, they played a great second half but they’ve done that all year – they don’t give in,” he said.
“With a lot of guys not there, we had a lot of people step up. Victor is Victor – he did a lot of good things. But it couldn’t have happened without everybody else.
“Everybody contributed, they deserved it. They should all go get a beer, or a Coke, or whatever they do.”
Denver, meanwhile, were left wondering where it all went wrong after 35 points from Jamal Murray and 22 points from Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets went into the game in Texas knowing that wins in their final two games would guarantee them top seeding in the West.
However, the loss against the team who are bottom of the conference with a 21-60 record leaves everything hanging in the balance heading into the final regular-season fixtures on April 14.
Denver are now third behind Oklahoma City, who pummelled the Milwaukee Bucks 125-107, and Minnesota, 109-106 winners over Atlanta.
The three teams are all level on 56-25, ensuring the race for top spot and home advantage will go down to the wire.
“Yeah, it’s disappointing. I mean, really disappointing,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “You had a chance to get to the one seed and now, obviously, we’ll likely be the three seed at the end of the day.”
Elsewhere, Joel Embiid scored 32 points as the Philadelphia 76ers kept their bid for an automatic play-off berth alive in the Eastern Conference with a 125-113 home victory over the Orlando Magic.
Orlando could have clinched a post-season berth with a win, but instead now face a nervous finale to the season.
The Sixers have now won seven games straight in a late season run that has coincided with Embiid’s return from a two-month injury layoff.
The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player added 13 rebounds and seven assists to steer Philadelphia to victory at Wells Fargo Centre.
In Cleveland, the Cavaliers punched their post-season ticket with a 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers.
A 70-point first-half performance set the Cavs on the way to victory, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 33 points and Jarrett Allen 29. AFP
