NBA roundup: San Antonio Spurs continue to dominate as LA Lakers edge Denver Nuggets

Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Saturday to lead San Antonio over Charlotte 115-102, giving the Spurs their 17th victory in 19 games.

NBA scoring leader Doncic had a triple double with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to foil a triple-double effort by Denver's Nikola Jokic, who had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists.

"This game was very big," Doncic said. "We've still got a long way to the playoffs. We've got to approach every game the same way."

The contest only reached overtime because LA's Austin Reaves, who scored a game-high 32 points, rebounded his own missed free throw and sank a tying basket from the left side with 1.9 seconds to play in regulation.

"Saw they only had one person on that side so tried to miss on that side and go make a play," Reaves said. "I've made it once before but not to this magnitude."

The score was deadlocked again late in overtime before Doncic's closing heroics.

"I just wanted to get my shot off," the Slovenian superstar said. "I saw there was an opening so I went to the other side. Went to my step back, I've worked on this, and trust my shot."

The Lakers squandered a 17-point lead then erased an eight-point Denver fourth-quarter advantage and won to stand 42-25, third in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets fell to 41-27, sixth in the West.

"That's the best I've ever seen the crowd here," Doncic said.

The Lakers won the season series over Denver, a key tie-breaker edge in the standings if needed.

At San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama delivered an electric all-around performance to lead the Spurs over Charlotte 115-102.

The 22-year-old, 7-foot-4 (2.24m) French center added eight assists, three blocked shots and two steals as the host Spurs avenged a January loss at Charlotte.

"That might have been my worst defensive game all year," Wembanyama said. "So yeah, we had to make a statement today."

The Spurs improved to 49-18, the second-best record in the NBA and only three games behind Western Conference leader and reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City.

"What's next is pretty straightforward. We want to win everything," Wembanyama said.

"We've got one disadvantage is that we don't got experience. But that can be an advantage, too, because if we don't know it's impossible we might still do it."

The Spurs, who lost to Denver on Thursday while Wembanyama was out with a sore right ankle, are set for their first playoff appearance since 2019. They last won a playoff series in 2017.

Wembanyama is mindful of keeping his body healthy for the upcoming post-season and in his quest for personal awards - the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Defensive Player of the Year trophies.

"In my mind it's taking great care of my body because I also want to win the MVP and defensive player of the year," Wembanyama said.

"I'm trying to press the gas now until the end of the season - really take care of my treatment, take care of my sleep, take care of my routine and show up for my team."

Wembanyama scored four points and added an assist in a 12-0 Spurs run to grab a 104-88 lead with 6:05 remaining.

"It's tough to scout for Vic," Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. "We try to play off him. We try to make the game as easy for us as possible."

Wembanyama has experimented during the season with different methods of attacking opponents, but has locked in on a dominating style.

"I like this ability of mine to be able to do great (at) lots of things," he said. "You can see in my career there have been periods... I was shooting more threes and this year earlier I had my only games with zero threes attempted because I was being super aggressive to the rim.

"It's just me trying to experience different things. Nowadays I'm shooting more threes because that's something I can do at a good level."

San Antonio cruised late to defeat a Hornets team that won eight of its prior 10 contests.

"It's big. To come back to the crib and take care of the home court is good," Spurs guard Devin Vassell said.

Castle, who had 15 points and 10 assists, added, "Trying to make big energy plays to help our team win but trying to have fun while we're doing it too... When we share the ball, we're a tough team to beat."

Hawks' streak at nine

The Atlanta Hawks stretched their win streak to nine games, a run they had not produced since the 2014-15 campaign, by defeating visiting Milwaukee 122-99.

Jalen Johnson had a triple double for the Hawks with 23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds while C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 30 points for Atlanta and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points.

Philadelphia's Quentin Grimes scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lift the host 76ers over Brooklyn 104-97.

Orlando's win streak reached seven games with a 121-117 victory at Miami, ending the Heat's win streak at seven behind 27 points by Paolo Banchero and 21 by Desmond Bane.

Boston's Jayson Tatum had 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists while Neemias Queta scored a game-high 24 points to spark the Celtics' 111-100 victory at Washington, the Wizards losing skid reaching 11 games.