LOS ANGELES: Julian Champagnie rattled in 11 three-pointers and Victor Wembanyama scored 31 points as the San Antonio Spurs came from behind to defeat the New York Knicks 134-132 in a New Year’s Eve thriller on Wednesday.
San Antonio, beaten by the Knicks in the NBA Cup final two weeks ago, avenged that loss in sensational fashion after clawing their way back from a 19-point second quarter deficit to score a superb win.
French prodigy Wembanyama was instrumental in the victory, leading a determined fightback that included 31 points and 13 rebounds before he exited with a leg injury early in the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama later returned to sit on the bench and celebrated with teammates as the Spurs closed out a roller coaster victory that sees them improve to 24-9 and remain second in the Western Conference.
While Wembanyama played a crucial role in the comeback win, Champagnie provided the offensive spark, unleashing an incredible three-point barrage to finishing with 36 points.
Champagnie’s three-point blitz included four threes in the fourth quarter as San Antonio drew level before pulling clear.
“It feels great man — just go out there and do my job,” Champagnie said afterwards. “That’s all I can do...I was just trying to shoot the basketball.”
A crowd of 18,602 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center had been subdued earlier in the fourth quarter when Wembanyama hobbled off the court following an awkward landing from a rebound.
Wembanyama though later said he expected to make a quick recovery from what he called a left knee hyper-extension.
“My body’s feeling good, just sore,” Wembanyama said. “I’m very confident, optimistic.
“I expect to be back next game — I don’t know that (the team) expects,” he added.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks scoring with 29 points, with Karl-Anthony Towns finishing with 20.
'Magical’ Curry
In other games on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors maintained their impressive recent run of form with a 132-125 road win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Stephen Curry, playing in front of his hometown fans, led the Golden State scoring with 26 points including five three-pointers as the Warriors bagged their fifth victory from their last six games to improve to 18-16 in the Western Conference standings.
Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski backed Curry with 19 points apiece.
Curry, who had been serenaded with chants of “MVP” during a road game in Brooklyn on Monday, was given a warm reception by a record Charlotte crowd of 19.685 fans.
“It never ceases to amaze me the support he has everywhere,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Curry. “It makes sense given who he is, what he’s accomplished, what kind of human being he is...It’s a sign of how much Steph impacts people; there’s something magical about him.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 124-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 30 points.
In other results, the Atlanta Hawks thumped the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-102 thanks to a 34-point display from Jalen Johnson while the Orlando Magic squeezed past the Indiana Pacers 112-110 after 29 points from Paolo Banchero.
In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell outdueled Devin Booker to lead the Cavaliers to a 129-113 blowout over the Phoenix Suns. Mitchell scored 34 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists while Booker finished with 32 points in a losing effort.
