Wembanyama erupts for career-high 52 as Spurs blast Mavs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Victor Wembanyama delivered a career-high 52-point performance as the San Antonio Spurs battled past the Dallas Mavericks, 112-111, on Wednesday.

French superstar Wembanyama, whose previous best was a 50-point display in 2024, dominated at both ends of the court to power San Antonio to their sixth win of the season.

Wembanyama’s masterpiece included a record-breaking first-half that saw him reach the interval with 29 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.

The 22-year-old would go on to finish with 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks as San Antonio held off a ferocious second-half rally to claim victory.

Wembanyama, who was backed by 21 points from Dylan Harper and 17 from Stephon Castle, praised San Antonio’s “relentless” approach.

“We did mostly the right thing, the most ambitious,” Wembanyama told ESPN. “It was just relentless. We wanted it more tonight.”

Asked about his own performance, Wembanyama replied: “It’s very good because I’m trying to show the example.”

Teammate Harper paid tribute to Wembanyama’s professionalism.

“Just the mentality, the dedication, the discipline he has every day that he comes into the gym with is unmatched,” Harper told ESPN.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks scoring with 29 points, including five three-pointers.

Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid combined for 56 points as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons 112-106 in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference clash.

Brown finished with 30 points and Embiid added 26 to give the Sixers another impressive road win that moved them to 8-1 at the top of the standings, with Detroit (6-2) in second.

Brown and Embiid led another balanced offensive performance from Philadelphia, who saw all five starters reach double figures.

LeBron James added a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Tyrese Maxey drained three three-pointers on his way to a 19-point haul.

Brown, who arrived from the Boston Celtics in the offseason, said he was “still adjusting” to his new teammates.

“I’m still figuring it out,” Brown said, before paying tribute to the performance of 41-year-old teammate James.

“LeBron has been great,” Brown said. “To see what he’s doing at his age makes sense for LeBron James, but for nobody else would it make sense.”

The Sixers moved into the lead towards the end of the first quarter and kept their noses in front for the remainder of the game, stretching the lead to 18 points before a late rally from Detroit.