NBA

Knicks 114, Spurs 89

The Spurs jumped out to an early 19-7 lead, but that’s about all that went right for San Antonio yesterday. Mitch Johnson’s team waltzed into Madison Square Garden on an 11-game winning streak, so I suppose it was due for a stinker — even at 43-17.

The Spurs got to that mark partly because of Victor Wembanyama, and the center delivered in this defeat, registering 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. De’Aaron Fox, on the other hand, scored just seven points in 31 minutes.

San Antonio will face two more Eastern Conference teams in the coming days, with the 76ers and Pistons on the docket.

The Knicks are at their best when their starting five is clicking. That was the case in this victory, as the starters combined for 83 points. Mikal Bridges led the way with 25.

Mohamed Diawara’s, um, shot chucking caught my eye while watching, and the box score confirmed my vision. The reserve forward attempted 14 shots in 14 minutes, but to his credit, he finished a plus-18. Diawara, Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado all offered contributions off New York’s bench.

Cavaliers 106, Nets 102

Cleveland stormed out to an early lead, so it was a bit surprising that the Nets led for a decent amount of this contest. Donovan Mitchell is still out with a groin injury, making this a potential new normal for the Cavaliers until the All-NBA guard returns.

James Harden obviously becomes the ball-handling alpha for Cleveland sans Mitchell, and Brooklyn was well aware of it. Blitzed on most pick-and-rolls and drives, Harden had to depend on his teammates’ reads of the Nets’ defense. For the most part, the other Cavaliers delivered, as Harden recorded eight assists. The guard also committed five turnovers, but Cleveland’s attack converted when necessary.

Elsewhere in the scoring ledger, Jarrett Allen had 20 points and Evan Mobley scored 17.

The Nets’ effort yesterday was valiant. At this point, Sean Marks’ Nets are trying to stack interesting young prospects, waiting and hoping for some of them to hit. Nothing has manifested yet, but Brooklyn is getting intriguing outputs night in, night out.

Yesterday, Nolan Traore became more battle-tested. The rookie guard scored 17 points, but more importantly, he was in the fire for 30 minutes against one of the best teams in the NBA. Just 19, the French product gained valuable reps.

Danny Wolf also flashed, as he posted 23 points off the bench.

Bulls 120, Bucks 97

I didn’t watch any of this contest, although it appears the Bulls ended their 11-game slide in resounding fashion.

Josh Giddey has been skidding for a while, but he returned to his triple-double ways yesterday, recording 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Matas Buzelis added 20 points and seven boards for the 25-36 Bulls.

The Bucks chucked their way to a 35-of-95 shooting performance, including 28% from three-point range.