Victor Wembanyama scores 40 as Spurs beat Suns for ninth straight win

Victor Wembanyama needed only 25 minutes to put up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 122-96 in Phoenix on Monday night, 9 November (US time). It was San Antonio’s ninth win in a row, Field Level Media reported, and lifted the Spurs to 9-2.

The French centre made 15 of his 19 shots, including two three-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws, according to the box score reported by Rotowire and Yardbarker. He had 22 points by half-time, and the game was so one-sided that he was needed for barely half of it.

Why is Wembanyama trending?

Lines like this are why. Forty points and eight blocks in a single game is rare in the NBA; doing it in barely half a game is rarer still. The 7-foot-4 (2.24 metre) Wembanyama is now in his fourth season and has become the league’s most feared shot-blocker as well as a scorer who can shoot from outside, finish at the rim and handle the ball like a guard.

The New York Times compared one of his finger-roll finishes to the style of Spurs great George Gervin, a sign of how quickly he is being placed alongside the franchise’s legends, from Gervin to Tim Duncan.

How good are the Spurs?

Very, so far. The win kept San Antonio unbeaten on the road this season, and Sports Illustrated noted the Spurs’ depth is starting to show around their star. A team that spent years rebuilding is now among the early leaders in the Western Conference.

Watching from Pakistan

NBA games tip off in the early hours of the morning in Pakistan, so most fans here follow through highlights on the NBA’s official YouTube channel and the NBA app, which streams games with a League Pass subscription.

Next for the Spurs: trying to stretch the streak to ten.