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Julian Champagnie rattled in 11 three-pointers and Victor Wembanyama scored 31 points as the San Antonio Spurs came from behind to defeat the New York Knicks 134-132 in a New Year’s Eve thriller on Wednesday.
San Antonio, beaten by the Knicks in the NBA Cup final two weeks ago, avenged that loss in sensational fashion after clawing their way back from a 19-point second quarter deficit to score a superb win. French prodigy Wembanyama was instrumental in the victory, leading a determined fightback that included 31 points and 13 rebounds before he exited with a leg injury early in the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama later returned to sit on the bench and celebrated with teammates as the Spurs closed out a roller coaster victory that sees them improve to 24-9 and remain second in the Western Conference. While Wembanyama played a crucial role in the comeback win, Champagnie provided the offensive spark, unleashing an incredible three-point barrage to finishing with 36 points.
Champagnie’s three-point blitz included four threes in the fourth quarter as San Antonio drew level before pulling clear.
“It feels great man – just go out there and do my job,” Champagnie said afterwards. “That’s all I can do…I was just trying to shoot the basketball.”
A crowd of 18,602 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center had been subdued earlier in the fourth quarter when Wembanyama hobbled off the court following an awkward landing from a rebound.
Wembanyama though later said he expected to make a quick recovery from what he called a left knee hyper-extension.
“My body’s feeling good, just sore,” Wembanyama said. “I’m very confident, optimistic.
“I expect to be back next game – I don’t know that (the team) expects,” he added.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks scoring with 29 points, with Karl-Anthony Towns finishing with 20.