On the night the San Antonio Spurs set a franchise record with their 17th consecutive loss, rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama wasn't hanging his head. Tari Eason had a season-high 18 points and 14 rebounds off the bench as the Houston Rockets got the 93-82 win on Monday to keep San Antonio winless since a 132-121 victory over Phoenix on Nov. 2. Wembanyama had 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, along with an overpowering dunk over Houston's Alperen Sengun in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to get the Spurs back in the win column.
Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference standings will face off this week when the Boston Celtics host a pair of games against the . Orlando Magic? After a 104-94 win over Cleveland on Monday night, the Magic are tied for second place in the East with Milwaukee, just a game behind the Celtics. Orlando announced its presence with a nine-game winning streak that began in mid-November — a run that included wins over Denver and Boston — and now the Magic will take on the Celtics again Friday and Sunday.
The short-handed Phoenix Suns kept hitting shots in the fourth quarter, trying to steal a victory at home against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. De'Aaron Fox simply wouldn't let them. Fox scored 23 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Kings pulled away late to beat the Suns 114-106 on Friday night.
Here’s how the league tackled the issue of scheduling the eight clubs that advanced into the quarterfinals and the 22 teams that were suddenly in need of two more regular-season matchups.