At halftime, San Antonio leads New York 58-51 at Madison Square Garden. Victor Wembanyama has 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting (including 4-for-10 shooting from 3-point range), 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 19 minutes. He’s also +14. It is fair to say he’s dominating in his Christmas Day debut.
Mikal Bridges has a team-high 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson has been limited to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. New York is shooting just 4 for 21 (19%) from deep.
After coming up with eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, New York didn’t grab a single o-board in the second.
Wembanyama has 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks with a couple of minutes left in the half. More importantly, though, he has reached a new milestone:
There has truly never been a player like Wemby.
The NBA had special Christmas Day uniforms from 2008 to 2016, and LeBron James misses them:
He expressed the same sentiment last year. The funny thing about this is that the change coincides with Nike getting the league’s uniform contract. During the Christmas uniform era, Adidas made the uniforms. (James is a Nike athlete.)
An unusual injury update: Referee Dedric Taylor has tweaked his hamstring. He’s staying on the court, but he will presumably be limited.
Also, in his first Christmas Day game, Wembanyama has 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting already. We’re not even halfway through the second quarter yet. (He just hit a tough, hanging jumper over Hart.)
At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks lead 28-27.
After a deeeeeep 3 — 31 feet, according to the play-by-play — Victor Wembanyama has 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting, plus four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Mikal Bridges leads New York with nine points on 4-for-4 shooting.
The Knicks shot just 1 for 11 from deep, but grabbed EIGHT offensive rebounds in the period.
New York is bullying San Antonio on the glass early. With 2:27 left in the first quarter, the Knicks already have six offensive boards. They’ve rebounded 40% of their misses.
Also, just FYI, that “Mickey” shot was actually Chris Paul.
About seven minutes in, Bridges has nine points on 4-4 FG but the Spurs are up 16-15. From 3-point range, these teams are shooting a combined 2 for 14.
Wembanyama has two blocks, but has missed all four 3s he has taken.
Also, I’ve never seen anything like that “Dunk The Halls” broadcast, haha.
The Knicks and Spurs are minutes away from tipoff.
New York starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony TownsSan Antonio starters: Chris Paul, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama
Fun fact: The last time these teams met (March 29, last season), Brunson scored a career-high 61 points. That Knicks team was dependent on Brunson to create just about everything, though, and that hasn’t been the case for this year’s iteration. Entering this game, New York comes ranks No. 2 offensively, thanks in large part to the addition of Towns.
Where to watch NBA Christmas games: Knicks vs. Spurs TV channel, live stream online, picks, odds
