Victor Wembanyama returned from a first-quarter injury scare to score 22 points and grab 10 rebounds and lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 119-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

Stephon Castle added 19 points and 10 assists and Julian Champagnie had 13 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which led by 39 points early in the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points as Milwaukee lost its third straight. It was the Bucks' second straight lopsided loss after being booed at home during a 139-106 setback to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Wembanyama startled the sellout crowd at the Frost Bank Center, and it had nothing to do with his freshly shaved scalp.

He returned to the court after making knee-to-knee contact with Antetokounmpo's left leg under the Bucks basket with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter. Wembanyama dropped to the court in pain before rising and hobbling unassisted in a half sprint toward the locker room.

Wembanyama returned to the bench at the close of the first quarter Thursday, but this time he went back on the court to start the second quarter. He had 11 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot while playing 12 minutes, 27 seconds in the second quarter.

 

Double-double squad pic.twitter.com/cXjNqNC2RQ

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 16, 2026

Thunder pull away from Rockets

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, Chet Holmgren added 18 and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Rockets 111-91.

Cason Wallace added 17 off the bench and the NBA-leading Thunder outscored Houston 34-16 in the final quarter for a fifth straight victory.

Kevin Durant led Houston with 19 points, but he was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers and shot 7 for 23 overall on a night the Rockets made just 7 of 24 behind the arc.

The Thunder led by two early in the fourth quarter before using an 11-2 run, with a 3-pointer from Ajay Mitchell and two from Wallace, to make it 90-79 with less than nine minutes to go.

The Rockets outrebounded Oklahoma City 60-44 but were done in by their poor shooting. They shot just 33.7% to 46.1% by the Thunder and Oklahoma City made 16 of 41 3-pointers.

 

was everywhere & doing everything pic.twitter.com/E4KzLqebov

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2026

Simons rallies Celtics past Heat

Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the Boston Celtics trailed most of the way before rallying to beat the Miami Heat 119-114.

Sam Hauser added 17 points for the Celtics, who outscored Miami 36-21 in the fourth quarter and won after facing as much as a 19-point deficit. It was their second-biggest comeback win of the season, after coming from 20 down to beat Indiana on Dec. 22.

Simons had the second highest-scoring game for a reserve this season - Utah's Brice Sensabaugh had 43 on Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago - and became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench. The others: Larry Bird, Todd Day and Payton Pritchard.

Norman Powell scored 26 points for Miami, which got 22 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Heat.

 

Ant’s masterpiece performance lead us tonight down the stretch making him tonight’s @Gatorade Player of the Game pic.twitter.com/aqrJ8JIMyO

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 16, 2026