The San Antonio Spurs continued their win streak, beating the Boston Celtics despite some dramatics early in the game.
If you like the idea of reality television but find it trashy in practice, then NBA basketball might be for you. Never mind the messy off-court drama, the games themselves are plenty dramatic. On Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 126-116, but the final score is far from the main takeaway from the game.
Minutes into the first quarter, Victor Wembanyama would take a stray forearm to the face, missing the rest of the frame. He returned with a vengeance, finishing with 39 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Oh, and he made 8-15 of his 3-pointers for good measure.
That was just the appetizer.
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Midway through the second quarter, Stephon Castle shoved Jaylen Brown out of bounds. Or, that's what Brown would say. The referee saw things the other way, called the turnover, and jogged back down court.
Brown followed, giving the official an earful. After a third round of beration, Brown was finally assessed a technical foul, didn't agree with that, and had to be restrained by his teammates as he was ejected.
On top of that, Dylan Harper and his older brother Ron Jr. went to battle, with the older brother scoring an excellent 22 points for Boston. Dylan, meanwhile, only got nine, but left the Frost Bank Center with a win.
With Brown ejected, Boston was led by Derrick White's 34 points, much to the delight of the San Antonio crowd.
At the same time, in South Beach, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, breaking Kobe Bryant's record for the second-most points in NBA history. That has nothing to do with the Spurs or Celtics, but it was worth mentioning, anyway.
Aside from the drama that came with the matchup, the Spurs continued their run of dominance against the best teams in the NBA, and are now a combined 10-1 against the Houston Rockets, OKC Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Celtics. Those are the best teams in the league (not counting San Antonio, of course), and the Spurs have largely steamrolled them.
The Spurs will continue their homestand on Thursday, taking on the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs beat the Nuggets in their earlier matchup this season, although Denver is slowly getting healthier and healthier before a playoff push, making it a must-watch game between two contenders and MVP candidates.