Victor Wembanyama set a new career high with 52 points to highlight an absurd stat line, and the San Antonio Spurs survived a furious Dallas rally to beat the Mavericks 112-111 on Wednesday night.

Wembanyama shot 16 for 26 from the field. He also added 23 rebounds and eight blocked shots. He made 19 of 23 from the free throw line but missed a few late to allow the Mavericks to stay in the game.

The Spurs closed the first half on a 10-0 run and built a 73-54 lead by the middle of the third quarter, but Dallas rallied to erase the lead with six minutes remaining.

Wembanyama made his first 18 free throws of the night before missing four straight down the stretch. He made his final shot from the line with 24 seconds remaining to give the Spurs a one-point lead.

On the ensuing possession, the Mavericks held the ball for an attempt at a game-winner at the buzzer, but Kyrie Irving missed a fadeaway over De’Aaron Fox.

Dylan Harper scored 21 points for the Spurs, who won their sixth straight. Stephon Castle added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Irving led the Mavs with 29 points on 9-for-27 shooting, and Naji Marshall added a key 22 points off the bench.

Cooper Flagg struggled in the first half but played a key role in the second-half rally to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Brown stars as 76ers hold off Pistons

Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 30 points and made a key block in crunch time, as the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Detroit Pistons for a 112-106 victory.

The Sixers led by as many as 17 before Detroit rallied late, cutting the lead to 106-102 with 38 seconds remaining before Brown blocked a 3-point attempt by Cade Cunningham that would have cut the lead to one.

Joel Embiid had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the East-leading Sixers (8-1), who avenged a loss earlier this season to the Pistons.  

LeBron James added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. James hit a runner early in the second quarter for his unprecedented 16,000th made field goal. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made 15,837 shots in his career.

Philadelphia won despite a poor shooting night from Tyrese Maxey, who was 5 of 16 from the floor to finish with a season-low 19 points.

Cunningham had 26 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, while Duncan Robinson made seven 3-pointers to finish with 27 points for the Pistons (6-2).

 

Shorthanded Wolves win in Houston

Ayo Dosunmu scored 21 points, Jonathan Kuminga came alive in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 117-107 win over the Rockets, handing Houston their first home loss of the season.

Minnesota led 106-104 with just under three minutes remaining before Kuminga scored eight points during an 11-2 Timberwolves run to put the game away.

LaMelo Ball scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota, as Anthony Edwards remains out after undergoing an arthroscopic knee operation.

Kuminga finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Jaden McDaniels had 14 points and eight boards for the Timberwolves.

Alperen Şengün had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his 13th career triple-double. Kevin Durant added 21 points and Fred VanVleet had 18 for the Rockets, who fell to 6-2.