The Emirates NBA Cup (a.k.a. the midseason tourney) of the 2024–25 NBA Season continued on Thursday with another busy slate of games—including the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 114-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to go 13-0 to start the season. The Boston Celtics also continued their winning ways with a 139-114 blowout of the Brooklyn Nets, while the Sacramento Kings repeated over the Phoenix Suns, 127-104.
The biggest news of the day, however, was a shocking announcement over at San Antonio, followed by a 50-piece special from two special bigs.
Gregg Popovich Recovering from ‘Mild Stroke’
The biggest news of the day came way before the games were played: On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs revealed that the medical condition that has sidelined head coach Gregg Popovich is a mild stroke. The Spurs say that Pop suffered it on November 3 (November 2, US time) and is now recovering.
Brian Wright, the Spurs’ general manager, said the team is looking forward to welcoming back the 75-year-old tactician but is at the moment focused on “making sure that he has everything he needs and giving him the time and space to continue to recover.”
Popovich, the oldest coach in NBA history, is also the longest-tenured in the four professional leagues in the US—basketball, football, hockey, and baseball.
Victor Wembanyama Scores Career-High 50
Life without Pop continues for the Spurs, and on Thursday, the team saw its franchise cornerstone play maybe the best game of his young career.
Victor Wembanyama, the first overall pick of last year’s NBA Draft, exploded for 50 points in the Spurs’ 139-130 victory over the Washington Wizards at Frost Bank Center. Wemby was 18-for-29 from the field and had 8 triples in the Spurs’ first non-overtime 50-point outing since David Robinson accomplished the feat in 1994.
With his 50-piece, Wembanyama is now one of only four players to have recorded a 50-point game, a 5×5 game, and a 10-block game. The other three players in that elite company are Anthony Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Robinson.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Scores Season-High 59
Minutes after Wembanyama’s 50-piece masterpiece, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo did him one better, dropping 59 on the Detroit Pistons to lead his team to a come-from-behind 127-120 OT victory at Fiserv Forum.
The Greek Freak was 21-for-34 from the field and 16-17 from the charity strip. He also singlehandedly outscored the Pistons in OT, 11-9, to lead the Bucks to a much-needed win. He added 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in an MVP-type virtuoso performance.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis Come Up Huge in Lakers’ Win
The Memphis Grizzlies came to the crypto.com Arena on Thursday and put up an inspired effort. But they could not quite overcome the Los Angeles Lakers, who leaned on big games from Anthony Davis and LeBron James to fend off the Grizz, 128-123.
James led the Lakers yet again with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists for a third straight triple-double—making him the oldest to achieve the feat. Anthony Davis, meanwhile, added 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. With his 21 points, Davis became the 80th player in NBA history to reach 18,000 career points.
